The Longest Night
by Farley Drexel
Summary: Jimmy's leaving Retroville in twelve hours. Over the years, he and Cindy have grown apart, but in a spur of the moment decision, he decides to spend his final night with her. Feelings, revelations and choices are bound to collide in a shattering climax. JC.
1. Twelve Hours and Counting

**Disclaimer – I don't own Jimmy Neutron nor any other referenced media material.**

Jimmy Neutron was standing at the edge of his driveway, hands at his sides, taking in the nighttime view of his house. The moon was full and the sky was clear, allowing both lunar-light and starlight to illuminate the roof and windows. Jimmy stared at the house until he had his fill, and then shifted his gaze over to his clubhouse. This area was more dimly lit, but Jimmy could still peer through the window. When he had finished here, he eyed the tree, then the other trees, then the other houses to his left and to his right. As he completed this, he sighed. There were no other places to look.

He tried not to think about it. Even when he realized this was impossible, he tried not to _do_ it. But try though he might, against his mightiest efforts, when Jimmy turned around to stare at the other side of the street, his gaze went right to the Vortex house. Like a moth to the flame. And once there, he found that he couldn't move it.

Jimmy felt his shoulders slump. It was a familiar sentiment. Lately, every time he was presented with the opportunity to glance at the Vortex house, he tried to ignore it. Yet every time he received that opportunity, he couldn't resist it. Failure was not something Jimmy was used to, but every time he saw the Vortex house, he failed.

It seemed that for him, everything related to the Vortex girl was a failure.

Jimmy took in the other parts of the house first, but eventually, inevitably, his gaze settled on her bedroom window. It was dark inside so Cindy must not have been home, since it was still too early for her to have gone to bed. No matter how long he stared at it, Jimmy found that it wasn't enough. The house was an enigma to him, just like its teenaged tenant. How long had it been since he had gone inside the Vortex residence? Four years? Five?

Without a doubt, Jimmy stared at the Vortex house, and at Cindy's window in particular, the longest. Unlike the other sites in his neighborhood, he had a difficult time determining when enough was enough. In spite of this, he made a strictly rational decision on the matter and forced himself to turn away.

"Well, the lab isn't going to close down itself," he told Goddard, who had been standing behind him the whole time. The mechanical canine cocked his head to the side and whimpered. Goddard had been very frisky earlier in the day, but now, perhaps sensing Jimmy's somber mood, he had become rather quiet. Jimmy smiled at his longtime companion, knowing that Goddard was yet another part of his life here that he would have to leave behind. He petted the canine for some time, trying not to think of anything.

"Come on boy. We have to do it sooner or later."

Goddard wagged his tail and began padding alongside Jimmy.

Jimmy headed down the front lawn, in the direction of his clubhouse. He had gone only a few feet when he heard a sound that stopped him dead in his tracks. He thought the sound was footsteps. From his estimate, they were coming from somewhere close behind him.

Jimmy turned around to identify the source of the distraction.

And found himself staring at none other than Cindy Vortex.

"Well, someone looks a bit misty-eyed tonight," Cindy said as she strode off Jimmy's driveway, onto the grass. Though Jimmy could clearly see her silhouette, he still couldn't get a good look at her face.

"Cindy, I…didn't know you were home." His response ended up sounding a lot dumber out loud than it had in his head. If only he could have discreetly whacked himself on the skull.

"_Did_ you?" Cindy said rhetorically. She had almost made it over to Jimmy, but was still not entirely visible. "Or…"

With one step forward, Cindy came directly under a beam of moonlight.

"Were you hoping to catch a glimpse of me while I was changing?"

When Cindy became fully visible, Jimmy found a smirk on her lips, a gleam in her emerald eyes, and a certain aspect to her posture that was just so…Cindy.

The site of the blonde invoked such a strong desire in Jimmy, it nearly lifted him off his feet. Struggling to get a hold of himself, Jimmy took in a deep breath, and then relaxed all his muscles. He realized just then what Cindy had said to him.

"Wait, wait, wait…what did you say?"

Innocently, Cindy's eyes rolled to the side. "'Cause it's happened before," she put a hand to her mouth as she chuckled, "and I figured, it was only a matter of time before he does it again."

"You think I was _spying_ on you?"

"You men are so predictable," Cindy said while studying her nails.

Jimmy could feel his hands balling into fists. Of all the conversations he could have expected to have with Cindy tonight, this was certainly not one of them. He still had several things left to do, and didn't want to waste time arguing with her, but it was like his mouth had a mind of its own. In spite of everything, arguing with her just came so naturally.

"Listen _Cindy_," he said, pronouncing her name in a snide voice. "Although your bedroom window is arranged in a very tempting location, I have _not_ tried to examine your…anatomy, while you were changing."

"Oh really?" Cindy said, crossing her arms.

Jimmy felt his resolve crumble. He wasn't going to spend all night on this. "Okay fine, I may have that one time in sixth grade. But give me a break, it was my first week of puberty."

"Peeper-peeper, creeper-creeper," Cindy sang in the most annoying tone imaginable.

"It wasn't my fault. Would it have killed you to pull the shade down?"

"It was early in the morning if I recall. How was I supposed to know there were pervy little adolescent boys roaming the streets at seven am?"

"Is that really why you came here just now? To remind me of that?"

"Hmph, _no_," Cindy in a more gentle tone. She peered at the ground, and a silence overcame the two. Jimmy didn't know what to do or say except to let Cindy make the first move. He watched as her gaze shifted to his feet. It lingered there for a moment, and then went up to meet his own. For a split-second, Jimmy thought he saw kindness resonating in those twin emeralds. Kindness, and something else. Sadness? In any event, it was almost gone before he had noticed it, and was replaced by a familiar, though less sarcastic, gleam.

"Word on the street is," Cindy began while crossing her arms, "that this is your last night in Retroville." She paused. "Or on Earth. Or in the solar system." Her arms uncrossed. "Or in the galaxy."

Jimmy had a feeling that it was his turn to speak. He tried gleaning something, anything, from Cindy's eyes, but her expression was unreadable. He would have to fumble around in the dark.

"The word on the street is correct," Jimmy said. "I leave in twelve hours." He wished he could think of something better to say. "Did you, want to say goodbye?"

Yet again, an emotion seemed to flit across Cindy's features. This one Jimmy couldn't quite make out, but oddly, he had a feeling that it was a negative one. Anger? Frustration? The way a person's lip curled only revealed so much.

"Oh I don't know," Cindy said nonchalantly. She resumed studying her nails. "Maybe."

Jimmy gritted his teeth. They weren't getting anywhere. "Alright Vortex, enough beating around the bush. Why _are_ you here?"

"The way I see it, that's not an important question," Cindy said, regarding Jimmy once again. She stuck a thumb at herself. "I'm a normal teenager. I could be out here for any number of reasons." She began ticking them off on her fingers. "Going to parties, hanging out with friends, causing mayhem. The real question, the more interesting one, is 'what are you doing out here'?" She used one of her fingers now to point at Jimmy. "Jimmy Neutron, teenage genius and soon to be Intergalactic Missionary, spending his last night in the galaxy gazing forlornly at his neighborhood." She smiled. "Despite the fact that he has a photographic memory."

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. "So I'm feeling nostalgic. _That's_ normal."

"Or maybe, what I'm really interested in is why you were starin' at my window. Hoping to catch a flash of old Vortex's goodies? Or was it something, " Cindy donned a sly look, "different?"

Jimmy sighed. "Vortex, it's my last night in Retroville. I'm trying to be nice here; do you have to make it so difficult?"

"Oh don't be so dramatic Jimmy, I was only kidding." Cindy's mysterious grin was replaced by a genuine one. "What's wrong with a few laughs between a couple of old neighborhood chums?"

At this comment, Jimmy nearly had the urge _to_ laugh. _Old neighborhood chums, huh? Oh Cindy, if only our relationship were so simple._

In any event, Jimmy supposed that he now might as well play along. "Nothing at all," he said, flashing Cindy a sincere grin of his own.

To Jimmy, moments like these, when they were being straightforward and seemed to enjoy each other's company, were simply dazzling.

"But really Neutron, what _are_ you doing out here?" Cindy said with a laugh. "It's your last night. I figured you'd be maybe, I don't know, hanging out with your friends and family."

Cindy may not have known it, but her comment stung Jimmy a little. He tried not to show it, but he heard all too clearly the way she said 'your friends and family.' Like she didn't consider herself part of that group.

"I just got back from the Candy Bar with Carl, Sheen and Libby," Jimmy said. "That's…why I was on the driveway. I was walking up to the house from my car. I'll say goodbye to the others tomorrow morning before I leave."

"What about your mom and dad?" Cindy said.

"I've been kind of saying goodbye to them all week. I told them that I had some things to do tonight and wanted to be alone for a while."

"And then I came, huh?" Cindy said with a smile.

Jimmy held his hands out in protest. "No, no, that's not what I meant."

"I _know_ Neutron, relax, sheesh. You're wound up tighter than a guitar string."

For what felt like the millionth time that night, Jimmy let out a sigh. "I know," he said. He lowered his head. "I'm just a little stressed out. You're right; it's my last night in the galaxy. It's just that, I've been so busy lately, and now that things have finally slowed down a bit, I'm realizing how much I'm really gonna miss this place." Jimmy kept his eyes nailed to the ground. "And the people in it."

"I wish there was something I could do to help."

Jimmy couldn't help but stare at the blonde. There was no mistaking her sincerity just now. Cindy Vortex was truly something else. Sometimes, she was so infuriating that he wanted to kill her, yet other times, she was capable of such empathy. No one else besides his parents, it seemed, had even wondered how he was dealing with his imminent departure. He was reminded of the time in the prison cell on Yolkus, how Cindy had been the only one to encourage him.

He couldn't deny it anymore, at least not in his own head. She would be particularly difficult to leave behind.

"You've already helped Cindy," he said. "Talking to me just now. Making sure I'm okay." He swallowed. "It makes a difference."

"Yeah, well," Cindy said, digging a toe against the ground. "Anyway, you said you had some things to do, and I'm sure things are pretty nutty for you right now, so I guess I'll just…get going."

Without so much as a spare glance, Cindy turned around.

"Cindy, wait!"

The words were out before Jimmy could process them. They were directly from his heart, unyielding to his conscious inhibition. A second after he had said them, Cindy turned around, looking incredibly serious at first, then, after she had studied Jimmy's face for a moment, breaking into a smile.

"What do you know, he misses me already."

Jimmy ignored the bait. "D-Do you have to leave? So soon?"

For some reason unbeknownst to Jimmy, Cindy giggled. "No. I don't _have_ to leave, if that's what you're asking." She giggled again. "I just thought you wanted some alone time and still had stuff to do."

"I, well yeah, but–"

"It's no big deal Neutron." Cindy was still smiling. "If there's anyone you should be spending your final hours with, it's Sheen and Carl. Or your parents."

"What do you mean by that?" Jimmy protested.

"Well, no offense, but we're not exactly what you'd call close friends."

"Why are you saying that?" Jimmy said. Once again, Cindy Vortex found a way to make his blood boil. This time, however, it was for a different reason. "You're making it sound like we're not friends at all."

"I wouldn't say we're not _friends_," Cindy said, frustrating Jimmy with how amused she seemed by their conversation. "But let's be honest Neutron. We're not as close as we were back in the fifth grade. Or in middle school."

"How can you say that Cindy?" Jimmy said, sounding completely incredulous. "After all we've been through together? Rescuing our parents, defeating the League of Villains, getting…stranded on that island?" Jimmy couldn't look Cindy in the eyes as he mentioned that last item. "How can you go through things like that and not be close?"

"It happens. I haven't forgotten the things we went through. I admit, we've gone on some crazy adventures together. It's just that…" For the first time that night, Cindy sounded a bit sad. "Sometimes, people grow apart."

"Well maybe I didn't _want_ to grow apart!" Jimmy snapped.

"Well we did!" Cindy exclaimed. In yet another first for her night, Cindy had begun to sound angry. As soon as her twin emeralds flared however, they cooled. She took a moment to collect herself. When she had, she let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to get you upset. If you want me to stick around, believe me, I will. It's just…if this is the last time we're going to see each other for a while, I just, I wanted to be honest. That's all. On our last night together, I just wanted us to be honest with each other."

"I see," Jimmy said.

A long silence passed between Jimmy and Cindy. Neither knew quite what to say to the other.

An awful knot twisted itself inside Jimmy's stomach. A realization hit him very fast and very hard. If he didn't say something now, he might never get a chance to say something again. But suddenly, there was simply too much he had to say. What on earth was he going to do?

"Look, I don't want to spend all night arguing either," Cindy said. "We've already wasted too much time over the years doing that anyway. So I'm just gonna ask; do you want me to stay?"

The knot in Jimmy's stomach grew tighter.

"Do you want me to go?"

And tighter.

"It's your night Jimmy. What, do you want?"

And tighter.

"I don't know," Jimmy mumbled.

"What?"

The knot grew so tight that it snapped. Jimmy found himself devoid of air. It was like he couldn't breathe. His mind was racing, overflowing with the thoughts, ideas and regrets that had been plaguing him all night. Some were about his future. Some were about his past. Many were about Cindy. He fought so hard to control them, but he just couldn't fight any longer. They began to tumble out.

"I don't know!" he shouted. He gripped his hair, the urge to pace overwhelming him. "I don't know what I want. I mean, I _know_ what I want, but this is the first time I felt so unsure about it." The emotions continued pouring out. "Ever since the Intergalactic Missionaries first contacted me back in ninth grade, I've done nothing but work non-stop to try and get accepted, and now, now that I've finally taken a chance to breathe, I've realized how much things are going to change. Ugh, that's not what I meant. What I'm trying to say is that I knew things were going to change, but this is the first time I've _taken_ the time to _feel_ how much things are going to change! I don't know how I'm going to deal with leaving behind Retroville! I don't know how I'm going to deal with leaving behind Mom, and Dad, and Carl, and Sheen, and…and you. I don't know how I'm going to deal with the fact that I've spent so much time working and not enough time doing other things. Cindy, I just don't know!"

After Jimmy's outburst, Cindy just shook her head. "Oh Jimmy, listen to you," she said, barely above a whisper. She grabbed Jimmy by the arms and began massaging them. She was so gentle, it almost broke Jimmy's heart. "I know this must be hard for you. I can't imagine what it would be like to have to give up everyone and everything I know. To dedicate myself to a life of service." She was quiet for a bit as Jimmy sought to reign in his raging emotions. "I'm not asking you to answer all these tough questions Jimmy. I just wanted you to take this time now and do something you wanted to do. Okay?"

Jimmy pulled himself out of Cindy's grasp and gave his back to her. It was just so hard facing her right now. He didn't know how to communicate it.

"Do you know what I want to do?" he exclaimed after a long pause. He hadn't shouted it, but he hadn't exactly whispered it either. He was still feeling out of breath, which made it difficult to talk in a normal voice. "I want to just take off somewhere. I just want to go, and I want to take off somewhere. No plan, no destination. I just want to leave. I've done nothing but work for the last four years straight, and now, for once, I just want to escape. Just for a little bit."

Behind him, Cindy smiled. "Jimmy, I think that's a wonder–"

"And I want you to go with me!"

Jimmy spun around just in time to catch the look of shock pop onto Cindy's face. That look widened as she saw that Jimmy had unexpectedly, suddenly and completely, gotten over his angst. He was smiling at her. Smiling like they had been conducting a jovial conversation for hours. Not giving her time to react, he grabbed a hold of her hand and dragged her off in the direction of the clubhouse.

"Uh, Jimmy," Cindy said. She sounded worried. "Where exactly are we going?"

"To the lab Dorktrex," Jimmy said, chuckling.

"Jimmy, are you…_feeling_ okay?"

"I'm fine," Jimmy laughed. He spun around again and now grabbed a hold of Cindy by the shoulders. "You're right. We have grown apart. I've spent the past couple of hours hanging out with Carl and Sheen, and I've had weeks to spend time with my parents. Now I want to spend some time with you. Like back in fifth grade."

Cindy's eyebrows knitted.

"Just good old-fashioned, healthy, spontaneous fun. And I know just the place where we can have it."

"Whatever you say Neutr – whoa!"

Cindy tried to speak up and make some more sense out of what was happening, but darn-it-all, Jimmy was pulling too hard on her hand.

**AN: Well, there's the first chapter. Things are starting off slowly, but they will seriously ramp up eventually. I know some things are unclear right now, but they will be explained. Anyway, let me know what you guys think.**

**Oh, and btw, I didn't forget about Goddard. He'll make another appearance in this story. Toward the end.**


	2. Getting Reacquainted

**Disclaimer – I don't own Jimmy Neutron nor any other referenced media material.**

After some dusting, a test run, a quick engine upgrade, and a tank full of fun fuel, Jimmy and Cindy were cruising down Retroville road, en route to the freeway. Cindy slouched in her seat, sighing contentedly. She enjoyed the feel of the night air blowing past her cheeks. Sitting next to her and manning the controls, Jimmy looked like he felt the same way.

"I can't believe this thing still works," Cindy said. She patted the exterior of the hover-car like a prized stallion. Her eyes regarded it with something like nostalgia.

"That's the power of Neutron engineering," Jimmy said. He had a very pleased look on his face as he made a right and they turned onto the entry ramp.

Cindy chuckled. She considered a sarcastic remark about Jimmy's ego, but decided against it. Instead, she examined their surroundings, trying to figure where they were. This was especially difficult since it was dark.

"Where did you say we were going again?" she asked.

Jimmy's smile only widened. "I didn't," he said. "It won't be too long. You'll find out soon enough."

"Well, at least I know it's somewhere on earth," Cindy said.

Her heart almost stopped. "We'll be back in time right? You said you had to leave in twelve hours."

"We'll be back in plenty of time," Jimmy said. He turned a dial and the hover-car accelerated. "Depending on weather conditions, it should only take us a couple of hours to get there and a couple of hours to come back."

"Oh. Well, then we have some time."

"Yes we do."

The pair sat in silence for a while, listening to the quiet hum of the hover-car. Cindy put her hands behind her head and laid back. She was happier and more peaceful than she had been the entire night thus far. To Jimmy, this was excellent news.

"Well," Cindy said, stretching her arms into the air, "the girls at school will be jealous when they find out I spent all night riding around with Jimmy Neutron."

"I suppose," Jimmy said, his smile never fading.

Initially it had come as quite a shock, but as Jimmy's fame spread throughout the country and the rest of the world, he became a major girl magnet. Regarded as mostly a clumsy dork in middle school, by the end of ninth grade, Jimmy had a class full of female admirers. In retrospect, it made more sense. Appearing on the cover of numerous popular magazines and being reportedly involved in several government contracts had made Jimmy a celebrity. And as a celebrity, Jimmy received the usual perks.

"Funny, you never dated anyone for very long," Cindy said. She was staring at her sneakers, absorbed in thought.

Jimmy cocked an eyebrow. "You noticed?"

Cindy huffed in exasperation. "It was hard not to! You're practically all every female in Retroville High talks about. I probably learned more about you in the girls' bathroom than I did during all our adventures put together."

"Is that so?" Jimmy said.

"Don't pretend you don't know Neutron!"

"Kidding, just kidding," Jimmy said with a chuckle. He was glad when he thought he saw Cindy grin as well. "I admit, I am fond of the attention."

"I bet you are," Cindy muttered.

"But you know, it really is like they say. Pardon the egotism Vortex, but when you're…well, popular like I am, people really do like you for superficial reasons."

"Oh no, that must be so terrible," Cindy said, sounding like it was anything but terrible.

"The point I'm trying to make is, that's why I hardly dated." Jimmy let his words sink in a bit before continuing. "After a while, you get tired of everyone asking you how rich you're going to be, or how high your IQ is. You want to have an intelligent conversation with someone who likes you for who you are." He paused. "Kind of like the one we're having right now."

Cindy didn't say anything after this. Secretly, Jimmy hoped she was blushing. It was impossible to tell for sure in the dark under the dim moonlight.

"So…" he began, trying to prevent the discussion from becoming awkward. "What's…new?"

Without warning, Cindy burst out laughing. She clutched her stomach as her entire body shook, quaking with mirth. Jimmy was caught by surprise.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"That question," Cindy said. She giggled some more. "We saved the world on countless occasions back in fifth grade and middle school, barely talked to each other the past four years of high school, and now, all we can say to each other is 'so…what's new.'"

Heart pounding, Jimmy paled. "I-I'm sorry Cindy, I, I didn't _mean_ to–"

"It's okay Neutron," Cindy said with another laugh. "I'm not mad. It's just, kinda pathetic, don't you think?"

Jimmy's shoulders sagged. That familiar feeling, the one of regret and missed opportunity that had been hounding him for weeks. It returned. He could feel it settling miserably at the pit of his stomach. "Yeah," he answered, trying to sound upbeat but knowing he failed. "It is kind of pathetic. Isn't it?"

"Totally!" Cindy said. She seemed unaware of Jimmy's mood shift. The blonde merely gazed ahead and folded her hands behind her neck. "Well, let's see." She mulled over Jimmy's amusing question. "In a couple of weeks, I'll be headed off to college."

"That's right," Jimmy said. "Libby told me you got into Harvard." He beamed at the blonde, in spite of his somber mood. "Congratulations Cindy. I know you've been wanting to go there for a really long time."

"Thanks."

"So what you want to do?"

"Research. I've thought about marine biology. With any luck, one day I'll be Professor Vortex."

"That's great Cindy. That really is."

Yet again, the hover-car fell silent. Not knowing what else to do or say, Cindy resumed investigating her environment. She caught sight of one of the road signs and found that they were traveling west. They were definitely out of Retroville now, and Cindy couldn't think of any place Jimmy would want to go that was so far out of town. Cindy thought she had only been down this route one time before (if she had ever been down it), and if Jimmy had gone through the effort of reviving the hover-car, that meant that…

"Jimmy?" Cindy said. Her voice sounded odd, even to her own ears. "Why exactly was it that we didn't take your car? You know…you're normal car?"

"For old time's sake," Jimmy chirped.

Cindy didn't believe this for a minute. She stared hard at their surroundings, trying to make sense of the passing signs, buildings, and roads. She couldn't find anything that really triggered her memory, yet all the while she couldn't shake off the feeling of déjà vu.

When realization dawned, Cindy broke out into a cold sweat. "Jimmy?" she asked, using that same odd tone. "We're not going where I think we're going, are we?"

Jimmy took a couple of seconds before responding. "And where exactly do you think that is?"

"You know darn well where I think that is!" Cindy snapped.

Jimmy paused again. "Maybe."

Cindy sighed. She didn't want to say this. She really didn't want to say it.

"Not that I want to be the wet blanket here, but are you sure that's a good idea?" she said. She waited, but Jimmy said nothing. It looked like it would be up to her to identify the elephant.

"Part of me wants to go back there too, but I don't know if we should do that if you have to leave the galaxy in half a day." Cindy hesitated before continuing. "A lot happened the last time we were there." Her gaze lowered. "At least, the way I remember it."

"Not that I'm confirming that that's our destination, but even if we did return there, who's to say it would be like last time?"

"Jimmy…" Cindy began. She closed her eyes, and then opened them. "Maybe I'm being a little oversensitive. I don't know; it was a weird couple of days. It's just, I don't want anything happening tonight that we're both going to regret later on." She gazed at Jimmy's profile. "I know you're stressed, and maybe you're not thinking clearly. You have a lot riding on you right now. I just don't want to see anything coming in-between you and your dream."

"Cindy, I have no idea what you're talking about."

It took everything in Cindy not to scream. She had reached the end of her rope. It had never been very long around Jimmy, and time had apparently done little to change this.

"Why is it so hard for you to say it?" she said. She sounded hurt and incredulous. Like a child asking their parents if they were being left behind.

It was all Jimmy could do not to scream as well. He fought down his emotions, struggling to remain calm. "To say what?"

"To say it!" Cindy said more forcefully.

"Cindy, I don't know what you're–"

"To _say_ it_!_"

"To say _what_?"

"TO. SAY. _IT_!"

"TO SAY _WHAT_? I DON'T GET IT CINDY! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! I DON'T HAVE THE FAINTEST IDEA WHAT YOU'RE SAYING!"

"Oh forget it," Cindy moaned, unable to take the pain any longer. She shook her head, letting the tears fall down her cheeks. "Forget it." She dropped her forehead onto her palms, head still shaking, sadder than she could recall being since the ninth grade.

What followed was the longest silence of the night thus far. Jimmy refrained from sparing so much as a glance at Cindy, his focus exclusively centered on getting them to their destination. Had he looked at her, even under the cover of night, he would have been able to make out the teardrops. The blonde wept silently, willing herself not let Jimmy notice her distress. Her eyes eventually bled themselves out, and she was left with the tired, empty feeling that inevitably follows emotional expenditure.

"Why do you want to go so bad?"

It had come out as barely more than a whisper. More painful, and more vulnerable than Cindy had preferred, but at least she hadn't broken down. At least she still sounded stable.

Morosely, she waited for her answer.

"It's who I am Cindy," Jimmy said at long at last. Unlike the blonde, he was so unemotional, it seemed abnormal. Jimmy, as was becoming his habit of late, kept everything bottled inside. "It's why I always shared my inventions with you guys when I was a kid. It's why I tried so hard to contact aliens back in grade school." Although Jimmy appeared to be staring at the road ahead, his gaze was elsewhere. "All my life, I've wanted to know everything there was to know about science, and to be able to spread that knowledge to the farthest reaches of space. When I was contacted by the Intergalactic Missionaries, I knew that I had found an organization whose dream epitomized my own. I knew that they would provide the way for me to achieve my goals. I knew that if I ever believed in destiny, that this was it."

"But to leave everything behind," Cindy said. She was still very much hurt. "To leave every_one_ behind. You have to sacrifice it all."

"It's not an easy choice," Jimmy said. Ever so slightly, he had become less stoic. "It is a difficult path."

"_James," the humanoid said, staring at Jimmy from across the table. They had been talking for over an hour now, and the alien's tone, while always serious, had suddenly become very grave. "If accepted, the types of missions you will be going on…they may change you. These missions can take months in earth time. Years even. Once you enlist, you cannot back out. Your own wants. Desires. Family. They all must come second. It is the way we do things. It is the way it has always been done."_

"But I can't miss this opportunity Cindy. I was the first human to have ever been considered. I'm the first to have been accepted. I couldn't let this pass by."

Cindy slumped in her seat, wishing this could have all turned out some other way. "I know." Her muscles all went limp. "I just wish you didn't have to give up everything."

But once again, when he had been given an opportunity of a different sort, this opportunity, Jimmy did nothing. He kept quiet, piloting the hover-car along with his bottled-up emotions, leaving Cindy to wonder if he really felt them at all.

Cindy, in need of some comfort, laid her head against Jimmy's side and fell asleep.

* * *

"Cindy. Hey Cindy, wake up. We're here."

Having fallen in a deep sleep, Cindy found it very difficult to heed Jimmy's words. At first, she became confused when she saw a pair of large, blue eyes not too far from her own. She was confused because those eyes had never been so close to her, except for in her dreams. Now it seemed reality had reversed, because the eyes hadn't been in her dreams but were now there while she was awake, waiting for her.

"You must have really been out of it."

Cindy's senses slowly came back to her. She remembered that she was with Jimmy, that they were in his hover-car, and that they were traveling at a high rate of speed. The last part explained why she felt off-balance, like she wasn't sitting completely still. In truth, she wasn't.

"We're here," Jimmy repeated. His tone was gentle and hopeful, like they had never gotten into an argument or spoken about his destiny at all.

Cindy looked ahead. She was fully awake now and remembered exactly where she was, what she was doing, and where she was headed. As this occurred, she was filled by a gruesome mixture of both joy, and dread.

Less than twenty meters away, the island was waiting for them. After seven long years, they had finally returned.

**AN: Okay, I know everyone saw that coming, lol. I don't know how many people have done the 'island return' bit, but I think I can make mine a little different. According to my current plan, the next chapter should have some serious JC fluff. After that, things are going to get dramatic. Very dramatic. In the meantime, thank you all so much reviewing. Means so much.**


	3. Memories and Making Memories

**Disclaimer – I don't own Jimmy Neutron nor any other referenced media material.**

Jimmy parked the hover-car well into the sandy shore, so that it would be far away from any incoming tides. As they landed and took their first up-close look at the beach, a wave of nostalgia washed over Cindy. Sights, sounds and smells came back to her, many that she had completely forgotten since they first left the island all those years ago. With them came the memories of her childhood and, suddenly, seven years didn't seem like so long.

Oh how it was, to have been ten.

"It's called context-dependent memory," Jimmy said. He was already outside of the hover-car. He helped Cindy out of the vehicle, where she took her first steps onto the beach. The wet sand was squishy beneath her sneakers. "This type of memory is enhanced when you're in the environment in which you encoded it. Being here on the island, hearing the sounds and smelling the smells that you haven't heard or smelled in years is bringing back memories you didn't even know you had in you. Isn't it?"

It took Cindy a few moments to realize Jimmy had asked her a question. When she came to, all she could do was nod.

Jimmy smiled kindly at her. "Me too."

The pair began walking along the beach, feeling the way the island felt beneath their feet, allowing the memories to pile inside their minds. Cindy was so preoccupied with both the past and the present, she hadn't even noticed that Jimmy had slipped his hand around hers. When she did, she immediately stopped walking and looked Jimmy dead in the eyes.

"For comfort," Jimmy stated simply. He gazed at her, not betraying the slightest hint of dishonesty. "I don't know about you Cindy, but…" He chuckled, then looked down. "I'm a little nervous."

Cindy took several seconds to make up her mind. "For comfort," she said at last, narrowing her eyes at Jimmy until she was sure that he saw her. Hand still wrapped around the teen genius's, she looked away and the two resumed walking.

In spite of her warning to Jimmy, Cindy couldn't prevent herself from cracking a microscopic smile. She was thankful for the darkness, which kept Jimmy from seeing it.

"Hey Cindy, look."

Cindy made out Jimmy's finger, which was pointing ahead, toward the entrance to the jungle. It was easy to recognize the jungle by the density of the foliage. What was not so easy to recognize, which was where Jimmy was pointing, was a misshapen pile that lay haphazardly strewn along the sand. Cindy kept staring at it, trying to figure out what it was, when comprehension dawned. Jimmy voiced her thoughts as they popped into her head.

"The remains of our old tree houses," he said incredulously. "I can't believe they're still there."

Neither could Cindy. Jimmy had ruined their tree houses seven years ago by firing a laser at them with his watch. He had done so in order to protect them from a giant spider, whose eggs Sheen had stolen. Cindy would have expected the leftover lumber to have been washed away by now. At least most of it. Yet there it stood, virtually unaltered, except for perhaps bloating and rot exacerbated by years of exposure to the wet and salt.

"I remember when we built those," Jimmy said. "Boy that was fun, huh? We even had rudimentary plumbing and everything."

"It sure was something, wasn't it?" Cindy remarked. Her spirits lifted a bit. Perhaps seeing the refuse from their tree houses, that it avoided being lost and managed to stay in the same place all that time, was what gave her hope. An old pile of junk wasn't much reason for hope, but it was real all the same and it was something she could hold onto. It reminded her that the time spent on the island had been real.

"_I can build my own tree house Neutron!"_

_Cindy was sitting in a heap of lumber. An angry red welt adorned her finger, and an even angrier expression adorned her face. She had wanted to build her tree house her way, without any help from Neutron, but so far that she had made very little progress._

"_I know you can build it yourself Cindy," Jimmy said. Unlike the blonde, he was concerned more than upset. "But you have to build the frame first. If you start with the base, it'll be too difficult to estimate the appropriate size."_

"_Well apparently _your_ builder started with the frame first, since they obviously had difficulty estimating the size of your head–"_

"_Just hold them together like this," Jimmy said. He ignored Cindy's comments altogether. He placed his hands on top of hers and guided them to two pieces of lumber, so that the pieces were pushed against each other. "Now for a dollop of Neutron glue."_

_Jimmy squirted the pasty substance from his watch, and within seconds, the two pieces of lumber were permanently fused together._

_Cindy, still fighting the growing bond between her and Jimmy, turned her head away and blushed crimson._

"I wonder what else we'll find," Jimmy said.

Cindy shook her head, shaking off her flashback. She glanced around the island, considering Jimmy's question, when a thought occurred to her that was so simple yet so elementary, she couldn't believe that neither of them had brought it up. She almost wanted to laugh and cry at their foolishness.

"Uh Jimmy," she said, wanting to be careful how she phrased this. She didn't want to burst Jimmy's bubble, or otherwise lead the way into another argument. "Not that I want to be the wet blanket here…again, but um…" She winced as she couldn't think of any other way to continue her sentence. "How exactly are we going to explore the island? Or do anything for that matter? Since…you know. It's nighttime. And we don't have any flashlights. Or lanterns. Or any other usable form of illumination."

The blonde cringed, waiting for Jimmy to shout out in anger, or to lower his head in defeat. Instead, like the resourceful Jimmy that she had once known but had almost forgotten, the teen genius just smiled. Cindy could barely make out the upward curve of his lip.

"I was wondering when you'd say that Ms. Vortex," he said with a cryptic air. Eyes glittering, he turned away from her. "What you're about to see is a demonstration of the first invention I developed for the Intergalactic Missionaries." Jimmy removed his ever-present watch from his wrist. He opened a flap on the wristband, which issued a bright but localized glow, and punched what must have been several buttons, though Cindy had a hard time seeing. "You see, part of the admissions process is validating your scientific ingenuity."

Before Cindy could say another word, Jimmy appeared to press one final button. A powerful rumbling emanated from the watch. It was so strong that Cindy felt it vibrating through her feet and teeth. After the rumbling subsided, a glow enveloped Jimmy's hand, the hand that was carrying the watch. Still holding onto the watch, Jimmy slowly lowered his hand, until his fingers connected with the sandy ground.

What followed was one of the most breathtaking scenes that Cindy had ever witnessed. And as a seasoned space-traveler by the age of ten, that was saying something. When Jimmy touched the beach, the glow that enveloped his hand rapidly spread throughout the entire island, covering every rock and every tree. Once it had done this, the glow began creeping into the air. It spread more slowly here, and seemed to follow along some invisible path. As it progressed, Cindy saw that it was forming a large dome over the island. She wanted to say something, to ask Jimmy a question, or several, but her voice had left her.

After much anticipation, the glowing dome had finally finished forming. Cindy thought she knew what was coming next, but even so, it managed to surprise her. The shining dome evaporated and the surrounding sky burst into light, so suddenly and so brightly that Cindy had to cover her eyes with both hands. It seemed to take ages for her to adjust, but once she had, she unveiled her eyes.

It was like being transported to another planet. Or better yet, like taking a ride in one of Jimmy's time machines. The island hadn't changed, she hadn't changed, _Jimmy_ hadn't changed, and she was pretty sure that their positions hadn't changed, but instead of the milky twilight scene that had been there before, it now appeared that it was the middle of the day.

And she could see everything.

Cindy positioned her hand at eyebrow level and craned her head, so she could study the sky more directly. It was nothing less than the deepest blue, painted out of an artist's most treasured color reserves. Right in the middle of it burned the sun, a great golden sphere that positively shocked Cindy by sending her warmth. She was so dazzled that she became light-headed.

"You see, being a missionary involves traveling to other planets, where the light-dark cycle may vary considerably from the missionary's own indigenous environment. In order to safeguard your mental and physical well-being and to prevent your circadian rhythms from becoming distorted, you must be able to create your own source of natural light."

"I…" Cindy began. Her brows furrowed. She was dumb-struck. "You…"

"Of course, the Missionaries rejected this proposal. It was too ostentatious you see. In addition, while it kept my own light-dark cycle at a preferable level, it would disrupt that of the surrounding wildlife."

Cindy retracted her gaze from the sky and aimed it at Jimmy. She simply stared at him, twin emeralds sparkling with innocence.

"A few hours exposure like this will have minimal adverse effects, other than temporarily confusing some of the animals. Once I'm on an official mission, I'll use a form of phototherapy instead. Similar to the kind they give to people with Seasonal Affective Disorder."

"Is this all just limited to the island?" Cindy said. Impressed would have been an understatement.

"Yep."

Cindy kept staring at Jimmy. "And you're able to do this…with just your watch?"

"Uh-huh."

Cindy glossed over the scene, unable to stop her head from shaking. "You've gotten…better at this since we last hung out. Haven't you?"

Jimmy shrugged. It was all he could do to prevent himself from launching into a goofy dance. "A little bit." He watched as Cindy's eyes jumped from point to point, and then back, like she couldn't take it all in.

"So," he said in what was undoubtedly a very satisfied tone. He assembled his hands behind his back. "Any questions?"

Eventually, Cindy turned to Jimmy. Her face glimmered at first, then deadpanned. She pointed at his watch.

"Got any extras?"

* * *

A few minutes later, Cindy and Jimmy were trekking aimlessly through the island, unable to keep to a specific path since there was so much to explore, so many places to revisit. They went in and out of the jungle, though they were careful not to go too deep inside. Indeed, the sudden ignition of night into day had confused the animals, and many were stirring about, trying to figure out what it was that had happened. Cindy felt bad for them at first, but Jimmy reminded her that a few hours exposure wouldn't do them much harm. He compared it to staying up a few extra hours to study for an exam. When done repeatedly it could deteriorate a person's performance, but if done only once, it yielded little effect.

"So," Cindy panted as they pushed through a patch of heavy undergrowth. They had only been at it for about ten minutes, but it felt much longer. Already, their breathing had grown labored. "Where should we go…first?"

"I think," Jimmy began. "That the question isn't…where should we go…but rather…the question is…where shouldn't we?" He glanced at his watch, which among other things, still served to tell time. "I've got a little over nine hours before takeoff." He swallowed a large gulp of air. "If it takes us two hours to get home…and I need three hours to get ready before leaving…that means we have four hours left."

"What about sleeping?" Cindy said. "I'll be fine but…you've got a long journey ahead of you."

"I can sleep on the way. I have to do a few things while going to…Intergalactic headquarters, but…other than that I've got nothing but…time."

"Intergalactic headquarters?"

"Yeah. You see, before we can take on any missions…there's a training process. I think it's several months in earthen time, but…they won't tell me how long exactly." Jimmy looked right, then left, trying to discern their location. Sweat rolled down his temples. His invention had changed everything from the time of day, to the temperature, to even the quality of air. It felt just like Cindy remembered, from way back when. "But enough of that. What do you want to do right now?"

"I don't know. It's like you said. It's not what we should do, but what…we shouldn't." Cindy racked her brain, determined to use every last second of her limited time with Jimmy. "There's the guava patch. We can rustle up some smoothies if the fruit's good. And then there's the water by the cliff. We can go for a swim."

"Good suggestions," Jimmy said. "But before we do any of those…do you mind if we do something else first?"

"Something else?" Cindy said. She thought she had pegged the highest priorities. "Like what?"

* * *

As quietly as possible, Cindy and Jimmy leaned past the trunk of the tree they were perched on, and over the branch. They carefully controlled every movement, for fear that the slightest snap of a twig or brush of a leaf might set off their target. Currently, that target had its back to them, and was preoccupied by something on the ground.

"On the count of three," Jimmy whispered. He gave Cindy a serious look.

"Oh Jimmy I don't know," she whispered back. "What if he doesn't recognize you? You've gotten a lot taller."

"On the count of three," Jimmy repeated, leaving no room for argument. He nodded at Cindy's fist, which clutched his watch. "You know what to do?"

"Just go and do it already," she said. She sighed impatiently, staring down at her other fist, which carried a bunch of bananas. "I still think it's a stupid idea."

"One," Jimmy began. Cindy flipped the panel on Jimmy's watch and pressed a button. A tiny LED light peeped out through an invisible hole. Cindy aimed the light at Jimmy.

"Two," Jimmy continued, holding up two fingers and looking directly at the watch. He waited several seconds and then extended his third and final finger. "Three."

Jimmy leapt out of the tree and hurtled toward the creature like a madman. Cindy aimed the watch's tiny light at Jimmy, trying to catch his every movement. Before the little creature knew what hit it, Jimmy had skidded to a stop behind it and wrapped one of his arms around the creature's belly. Using his other arm, Jimmy grabbed hold of the creature's right hand and made it wave back and forth at Cindy.

"Hiii," Jimmy drawled in a scratchy voice. "I'm Paul."

Jimmy immediately released the little monkey's hand and backpedaled several feet. He anticipated the creature would react, but he didn't know how to approach other than by ambush. If he had tried walking up to it, he had feared that the monkey would have been scared off, and then they would have lost its trail for good.

The moment Jimmy had released it, the monkey jumped into the air. It whirled around to look at Jimmy and then went rigid, visibly deciding whether it was going to flee or attack. As the monkey excitedly eyed Jimmy, the teen genius could see it's little chest rapidly rising and falling. His nerves on edge, Jimmy also began to feel guilty.

"Paul?" he said tentatively.

The little creature peered at Jimmy. It's heart was still thumping wildly.

"Paul?" Jimmy repeated. He placed one foot forward but then retracted when he saw the animal beginning to react. Slowly, ever so slowly, Jimmy hunkered down to his ankles, so that the monkey would feel less threatened. "Do you remember me?" He smiled at the creature, but it made no response. "Do you remember me and Cindy?"

Jimmy pointed back at the low-hanging branch of the tree, where Cindy was still perched. The blonde, rolling her eyes, waved the bunch of bananas at Jimmy and the monkey, all the while keeping the tiny video camera in Jimmy's watch trained on their location.

Paul didn't seem to care about Cindy or the bananas. He just kept staring at Jimmy, torn between his fight-or-flight instinct.

"Jimmy," Cindy called from the tree. She spoke discreetly, so as not to disturb their primate target. "Maybe you better just forget it. I don't think he's–"

Without warning, the little monkey pounced on Jimmy. The teen genius gasped inadvertently as he was knocked to the ground. Although he couldn't see her, he heard Cindy let out an exclamation, followed by some noisy clambering down a tree.

Preparing to defend himself, Jimmy balled his hands and stuck his head up. When he did so, he was very surprised to find that the monkey was not baring his teeth at him, or making any other type of defensive gesture.

Instead, it appeared that Paul was…dancing.

"What the…" Cindy had appeared at Jimmy's side, and was staring down at the supine genius, as well as the little monkey that was hopping and hooting atop his chest. "Uhh…"

Jimmy just laughed. He caught the monkey in his hands and began tickling it, knowing full well that monkeys weren't ticklish in the same way as humans, but enjoying it all the same as Paul shrieked with delight and began poking him back on the arm.

"What do you know?" Jimmy said, laughing some more. "You really do remember me, don't you boy?"

* * *

The reclaiming of Paul did something to Cindy and Jimmy. It was like the sky had become brighter, brighter than any artificial environment that Jimmy could conjure up with his watch. Having their former short-term pet rejoin them, it was like going back seven years in time. They felt like they had all the time in the world together. That there was no one on the planet except for them. That no matter what else had been going on in their lives previously, they had the moment. They had the moment and everything that was in it.

And at the time, that moment, as well as everything that was in it, couldn't have possibly seemed any brighter.

* * *

"So," Jimmy began as he and Cindy were walking through the jungle. They were each holding one of Paul's hands, and together held the monkey suspended in midair. Paul seemed to enjoy this, as he did everything from chin-ups to backwards and forwards flips. Currently, he was just hanging onto the humans' hands, chirping occasionally and very happy. "Now that we have the full family back together–"

Paul hooted at being mentioned.

"–What should we do now?"

"Hmm," Cindy said. She scratched her chin. To her right, Paul seemed to be thinking hard as well. Whether the monkey was truly brainstorming or not, at the same time that Cindy appeared to stop thinking, Paul appeared to stop thinking as well. The two doffed their thinking caps, and then, as though they had noticed each other for the first time, they looked at each other.

It only took Cindy and Paul a minute of mutual staring before they both looked at Jimmy. Grins broke out on their faces.

* * *

"Oof!"

Jimmy fell face-first into the sand. After recovering, and taking a moment to consider his burgeoning humiliation, he twisted to his side and spat out a mouthful of the coarse, tasteless grains. It was with extreme difficulty that he opened his eyes and faced Cindy and Paul's leering faces.

"Now remind me why I agreed to this?" he said.

At either side of him, Cindy and Paul both laughed.

"Because you're so bad at it," Cindy said. She took the bunch of bananas clutched in her hand and rattled them in Jimmy's direction. "Face it Neutron. Even now that you're two feet taller, you still stink at this game."

Jimmy made a guttural sound in his throat. Climbing to his feet, he waved his arms around desperately, hoping that for once, just once, he could catch the bananas and make Cindy the monkey-in-the-middle instead.

* * *

"Okay, I think we've collected enough now."

After she laid the last guava in their growing pile, Cindy dusted off her hands. Her lips were formed into a proud smile.

Paul was so eager to get started on the fruit, he sprinted from Cindy's side, toward the pile. Lucky for Jimmy and Cindy, the blonde had the reflexes of a Jedi master. She quickly grabbed a hold of the gluttonous primate.

"No Paul," Cindy told him. "We have to make them into smoothies first."

Cindy's eyes suddenly went wide. She smacked herself on the forehead. Cocking his head to the side, Paul provided an additional smack himself.

"Cindy, what's wrong?" Jimmy said.

"We forgot the coconuts," Cindy said. "The trees are all the way back at the entrance of the jungle. We can't carry all this fruit over there."

"No worries," Jimmy replied.

Cindy was about to remind Jimmy that without the hollowed coconuts they had nothing to hold their drinks, when Jimmy began fiddling with his watch. Cindy couldn't tell how Jimmy kept all the buttons on the tiny, adjoining keypad straight, but they must have made sense to him since after some pressing, a confirming type of beep followed.

Jimmy's watch trembled a bit, and then, like magic, three clear plastic cups popped out of thin air. Each landed at Jimmy, Cindy, and Paul's respective feet.

"Well," Jimmy said, once this latest feat had been completed. He mirrored the proud smile Cindy had worn a minute ago. "What do you think?" He pointed at his wrist. "An artificial wormhole connects this thing to my hypercube. I programmed it so instead of having to actually reach inside the hypercube and pull out my desired object, all I have to do is press a code and then that object would pop out instead." He gazed happily at Cindy. "Isn't it great?"

The teen genius became confused when he saw that Cindy did not share his enthusiasm. Instead, the blonde simply stood there with her arms crossed, a muscle twitching in her cheek.

"The watch?" she said in a hollow voice. Her foot was tapping. "Again?"

* * *

"And so, Dr. Van Pretzelstein continued with his experiments, delving further into the territory of the unethical, the unquestionable, the scientifically horrifying."

Cindy and Paul sat on their log with bored expressions on their faces. They were mindlessly shoving popcorn into their mouths (courtesy of Jimmy's endless watch), munching with annoyance as Jimmy continued his story.

"But then, at the end of the year, just as Dr. Van Pretzelstein was about to submit his progress report, something even more terrifying happened."

"Whah wuff dat?" Cindy uttered through her stuffed mouth. Frowning at her for a minute, Jimmy then wiggled his fingers about in a spooky gesture and said:

"He found out that the government had already canceled his funding. Ooooooooh." He wiggled his fingers again.

Cindy and Paul just stared at each other. They swallowed their popcorn. After an uncomfortably long silence, Cindy cleared her throat.

"Okay. Letting you tell campfire stories in broad daylight, and without a campfire, was a really, _really_, stupid idea."

* * *

"Last one there is a rotten egg."

As fast as he could, Jimmy removed his shoes, socks and shirt. Although his head wasn't quite as disproportionately large compared to the rest of his body these days, it was with great effort that Jimmy finally got his noggin through the sweat-dampened, cotton material. When he had, he saw Cindy standing before him, waiting for him to finish so that they could race to the lake.

Or rather, he saw more of Cindy standing before him than he had expected to see.

"Holy koo-koo-munga!" Jimmy blurted. He tried covering his mouth, but the damage had been done.

"What?" Cindy exclaimed. She frowned at Jimmy, but quickly noticed that the teen genius wasn't staring at her head but in a more southern direction. Teeth gritting, a blush crept across Cindy's face.

"Get a grip Neutron!" she said in an angry voice. It didn't help much. Now, Jimmy's eyes merely darted from her chest to her head, and then back again. "So I'm only wearing a sports-bra. Big deal. You've seen me at the beach loads of times."

"Of course," Jimmy squeaked. "You're perfectly erect – I-I mean correct – I mean…"

A murderous glare took over Cindy's features. Jimmy was reminded of the look serial killers wore in slasher films. Quickly, before his nerve ran out, he fumbled out one last thing.

"They've grown."

With that, Jimmy sped off like a bandit, Cindy hot on his heels.

"NEEEEUUUUTROOOOOOON!"

* * *

"And that's not all the items I have programmed into my watch."

Jimmy's blue eyes, one ringed with bruised flesh, gazed brightly at his two audience members. He began pushing more buttons on the keypad to his watch, and one by one, objects began popping out of thin air.

"I also have my Cheese-Ray. My Shrink Ray. My Death Ray. My Sneeze Ray. My complete volume of Albert Einstein biographies, on tape. My Fart Ray. My Puke Ray. My Ray-Ray. Hehe, that last one was a joke."

Cindy clenched her hand into a fist.

* * *

"OW!"

"Cindy, hold still."

Jimmy and Cindy had stopped in the middle of a small clearing in the jungle. Cindy had gotten something in her eye, so Jimmy was presently hunkered down in front of her, his fingers holding Cindy's eye open, his face only inches from hers.

"You know," he said, one keen blue eye probing her one wide green eye. "I don't see anything in there."

Jimmy swallowed audibly. He couldn't remember the last time that he had gotten this close to Cindy Vortex.

"Maybe," the blonde began, committing a loud gulp herself, "It came out just now when I moved."

Jimmy moved closer as he gave her eye one last examination. "Maybe…"

The two teens looked at each other. Only an inch separated them. But the desire. That awful, voracious desire…

"I see the sea," Cindy said. Her green orb focused on Jimmy's blue one.

"Me too," Jimmy replied. He mirrored her expression.

For while the sea could be blue, sometimes, it could also be green.

* * *

They had been walking for a bit when Cindy felt Jimmy, once again, ensnare her hand within his. This time, she noticed it right away, and shot Jimmy a warning look.

"For comfort," Jimmy repeated. His gaze had become sad. It glanced from Cindy, to his watch, then back to Cindy. "Only two hours and thirty minutes left."

Cindy hesitated at first, but then chose to wrap her fingers around Jimmy's hand as well. She gave it a futile squeeze.

"For comfort."

Though they had both said the same thing, deep down, they knew they were lying.

* * *

"And I have my jetpack. My Shoebot. My Brain Drain. My Book Gum…"

Cindy's fist grew tighter.

* * *

"You know, back when we were here on the island for the first time, I had the strangest dream about Paul."

Cindy threw Jimmy a suspicious look, but was surprised to find that the genius was being serious. "What about?"

Jimmy's brows knitted in puzzlement. "Well, I dreamt that he was a chimp instead of a rhesus, that he had a third eye in the middle of his head, and that when he saw me, he waved and said, 'Hi, I'm Paul.'"

Cindy knitted her own eyebrows together. "So that's why you named him Paul?" She then added: "And where you got the idea for that stupid greeting."

"Yeah," Jimmy said. He peered down at the little monkey, who was tramping along happily in front of them. "But it was so weird, don't you think?"

"You're telling me," Cindy said. She couldn't keep the strangeness out of her voice. "The weird thing is, and I don't know how this is even possible, but…" She shot Jimmy a mystified look. "Somehow that all sounds really familiar."

* * *

"Are you ready?"

"If this is another stupid thing that your watch can do Jimmy, I swear I'm–"

"And open sesame!"

"Open sesame my foot, you – oh!"

Jimmy had taken his hands off Cindy's eyes, hoping she'd be impressed. He was not disappointed. Her dual emeralds shone like the sun, taking in every inch of the beautiful landscape. It had taken some effort to climb to the top of the cliff, especially while trying to keep Cindy blind-folded, but it had been worth the exertion. From their current vantage-point, they could see almost all the way out to the end of the island. Hundreds and hundreds of endless trees, with sparkling blue streams snaking in between them. Jimmy had originally found it seven years ago, but never had the opportunity to show it to Cindy.

"Oh Jimmy it's beautiful!"

The blonde turned around and wrapped Jimmy in a fierce hug. The teen was surprised by this at first, but then the surprise was replaced with gladness. He held onto Cindy with all the passion of a lover, a lover he wanted to be but couldn't. He restricted himself to a contented sigh, and a soft nuzzle of his nose against her mesmerizing golden hair.

"I love it up here," she said, muffled by Jimmy's chest.

The teen genius held her against himself, drinking in the aroma of her jasmine, which had always been his favorite scent.

"On that Cindy, I think we can both agree."

* * *

"And I have my quantum scooter. My inter-dimensional chess board. My Red-Rider BB gun. I kept it in there for years so Mom wouldn't find out about it. My first nano-chip. My anti-gravity hair gel."

Cindy's fist grew even tighter.

* * *

"Jimmy?" Cindy said. She thought it had been a trick of the eye at first, but now, she wasn't so sure. "Is the sun…setting?"

Jimmy's visage grew somber. He placed a hand on Cindy's shoulder, gazing in the same direction that she was. "It's running out of power. I put it on a timer in case we…needed coercing."

Cindy didn't flinch. "You mean…"

Jimmy nodded. "We're better start making our way back to the beach. Before it sets."

* * *

They walked hand-in-hand the rest of the way, all pretense of comfort gone. They were holding hands to hold hands. And no matter how hard they squeezed, it wasn't hard enough.

* * *

Jimmy was so close. He could do it. He could do it right now. All he had to do was pull on Cindy's arm, take her by surprise, and kiss for all she was worth. He had done it before. Back in fifth grade, when all those rumors Libby had started on the news were flying about. He did it back then, out of nothing more than guts, desire, and curiosity. Now that he was seven years older and seven years wiser, he could do it again. He could do it so that she knew, once and for all, just how deeply he felt for her. He could do it…

But every time he was about to, that something, that terrible something which had been gnawing at the back of his mind the whole night, was what held him back.

* * *

Paul was hopping about, happy as could be, when he stopped. The little monkey had been having the most fun he had had in years, but just now, something made him pause. He turned around and realized that the humans, the one with the large head and the one with the hair that looked like bananas, were a whole lot quieter now. He hobbled over to play with them, and found that his suspicions were confirmed. While they were still affectionate, they hardly reacted at all to him.

Paul decided to become quiet as well. Maybe, if he was really quiet, just like those two were being, they would stay with him longer than they did that last time.

* * *

"And last of all, I give you…a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

Jimmy caught the sandwich before it could hit the ground. He took a bite out of it and swallowed with triumph. "You see Cindy and Paul, that's the most brilliant aspect about my latest hypercube. Not only does space cease to become a reality. Time ceases to become a reality just as well. I can keep enough food in here to feed me indefinitely, and not even have to worry about it spoiling."

Jimmy beamed proudly at his two, quiet audience members.

"You know what I think about your little…programmable watch Jimmy?" Cindy said.

Jimmy had been so excited about showing her his invention, he had missed the deadly tone in Cindy's voice.

"What's that Cindy?" he asked. He could hardly wait to hear her response.

Cindy's deadly note evolved into an even deadlier smile. "I think that if that watch isn't off your wrist and in the lake in five seconds, I'm going to rip it off myself and jam it so far down your digestive system, you'll have a second artificial wormhole running from your _butt_, all the way to _planet Jupiter!" _She waited a second, so that her words sank in. "Have I made myself perfectly clear?"

"Well Cindy, y-you can't just _make_ a wormhole with your bare hands. You see, Einstein said that–"

"Five-four-three-two-one!"

"Cindy, you have no idea how long it took me to program this thiiiiing! Quick, run Paul! Paul? Pukin' Pluto, you're chasing me too! Son of a – AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

"Cindy," Jimmy said. His voice was as solemn as the grave. He, Cindy, and Paul, had all been gathered on the beach for ten minutes, wanting to do something with their precious remaining time, but feeling far too anxious to actually focus on anything. Jimmy had walked up to the two, who were sitting on a trio of logs they had dragged near the hover-car. He and Cindy hadn't wanted to sit inside the hover-car just yet, since it reminded them too intently of their imminent departure.

"How much?" Cindy asked. She sat as still as a statue on her log, dreading Jimmy's announcement. She knew that they didn't have much time left. It was obvious from the sky overhead, which had almost completely run out of power and had nearly reverted to the nighttime scene. Yet in spite of all this, hoping against hope, Cindy prayed it wouldn't be too soon.

"One hour," Jimmy said, glancing up from his watch. He studied Cindy with sadness. He felt the weight of his words hit them all. Even Paul seemed to feel the effect. "We have one hour before we need to leave the island."

It was then, after he had said this, that it began to rain.

**AN: Thanks again for the reviews guys. Not sure if this chapter seemed too fast, but the next one will slow down a bit. I'm really anxious to upload the next chapters. My plan is that this story will get better and better, as well as more intense, as we approach the end. Now, I can finally show you all**** why I've dubbed this fic a drama.**


	4. The Storm

**Disclaimer – I don't own Jimmy Neutron nor any other referenced media material.**

Jimmy, Cindy and Paul had congregated around the entrance to the jungle, where the overhanging leaves provided partial shelter from the rain. Fortunately, the rain was not too heavy and the temperature was still very warm, which made the weather tolerable. Jimmy had activated the hover-car's shield so that it was protected by a dome-like plastic cover. Currently, all three friends were staring at it.

The embodiment of their coming exodus.

"You don't think it's going to storm, do you?" Cindy asked as she examined the hover-car. "Might be a little difficult to get back home riding that."

"No, we should be good," Jimmy said. "I checked the weather forecast before we left. There was a chance of rain, but nothing more than that. Believe me Cindy, if I had seen there was a hurricane or something coming, I would have picked a different spot."

"Right."

They listened to the rain fall. It had settled into a steady, pattering rhythm, which would have put them to sleep if they weren't so wired up. Instead, perhaps because they were so tense, the rain only increased their anxiety.

Jimmy watched as a water droplet dripped from a leaf. It fell onto a coconut, and then slid across the curved exterior, where it finally dripped again to the sand below, to its demise.

At the moment, Jimmy couldn't help feeling sort of like a water droplet himself.

"Well," he said, preparing to ask the question on everyone's mind. "What should we do now?"

The only answer Jimmy received was the falling rain. Cindy was looking down at her lap, her damp hair beginning to cling to her cheek. Paul was idly tracing a line in the wet earth with his finger. During the last half hour, the little monkey had become very quiet.

"We still have fifty minutes left," Jimmy said. He was determined not to let the rest of their time go to waste. "Any ideas?"

There was no immediate response.

"I got nothing," Cindy said. She folded her hands together. "I think we went every place we could hit Neutron. Even if we wanted to go somewhere else, it's too dark to see where we're going."

"I-I could fire up the sun again," Jimmy insisted. He proffered his watch. "Just another hour wouldn't hurt."

Jimmy was about to retract the panel from his wristband when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked at Cindy to find her staring at him sadly but firmly. The blonde guided his arm away from the watch.

"It's over Jimmy," she said. Her eyes were pleading, but her head was shaking. "Even with the artificial daylight, where would we go? Any of the places we haven't visited yet would take too long to find. Why don't we just stay put?"

Jimmy climbed to his feet. "You want to give up that easily?" he exclaimed. He turned and began shuffling about.

"No one's giving up," Cindy said. "But our time's running out. That's a fact." She patted the empty space beside her. "Sit down next to me Jimmy; you're making me nervous."

"If I sit down any longer I think I'll go _crazy!_ Waiting around like that." Jimmy ran his hands through his hair. His mind was cranking furiously, desperate to come up with a way out of his predicament. He shot Cindy a glance. "We could just go home early."

The blonde made no reaction to his statement.

"We can go to the lab and I can show you what I've been up to lately. O-Or we could go to The Candy Bar. Sam told me he'd keep it open all night if I wanted him to. Or we could break into Retroland." Jimmy began chuckling. "R-Remember when we did that Cindy? Back in fifth grade. I could jumpstart the rides and we could go for free! Just you and me."

"Or we could just stay here," Cindy said. Her glistening forehead wrinkled in concern at Jimmy. "And you're forgetting about Paul. We're the ones who went through the trouble of finding him. After we leave here today, he's probably never going to see us again."

The little monkey scrambled over to Cindy, where she hoisted him up by the underarms and placed him on her lap. She patting him gently, all the while eying Jimmy. "We owe him some time too."

"And what exactly are we going to do here for the next fifty minutes?" Jimmy said.

The rain started coming down a little more heavily.

Cindy was slightly hurt by Jimmy's tone of voice. "Talk," she said with a frown.

In her twin emeralds, Jimmy found nothing but sorrowful acceptance. It was too much to bear. He wasn't ready for that cup of poison just yet. There had to be another way.

"Talk about what?" he asked. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the rising precipitation.

"I think we have ample topics to choose from," Cindy said. For the first time, she was sounding faintly annoyed. "You wanted to have 'healthy, spontaneous fun' Jimmy. Well we did. Now, since we're both about to enter a new chapter in our lives, maybe we could use some closure."

Something in Jimmy's face darkened. He crossed his arms, staring hard at Cindy. "Closure?"

"Do I have an echo out here?" Cindy exclaimed. Seeing that Jimmy was no longer capable of sitting, Cindy placed Paul to the side and stood up herself, so that she faced the teen genius. She threw her hair back, so that her soaked locks fell behind her shoulders.

"All I asked was a question," Jimmy said.

"All you've _been_ asking are questions," Cindy retorted.

Feeling the mounting tension, Paul flattened himself against the ground.

"It's called the Socratic method Vortex."

"Well at least Socrates had the guts to do what needed to be done!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

At this, Cindy stopped. She squeezed her eyes shut, and then opened them. Her fingernails dug into her palms. Slowly, her lungs expanded with air, and then contracted. She willed her mind into focus.

"If you had asked me that at any point other than tonight, I would have beaten you to a pulp." She took another deep breath. It was a strain to keep calm. "I think we both know that there is some unfinished business between us, and that it is in our best interest to solve it before you leave. Even if resolving that business may be difficult, even if it may be unpleasant, I think we should give it some serious consideration."

The defiance in Jimmy's eyes and posture was gone, but all the same, he didn't seem too receptive to Cindy's words. His hard gaze was fixed on the muddy sand beneath their feet.

"Let me con_tin_ue," Cindy said, determined to crack Jimmy's shell. "Ever since we met all the way back in the third grade, there have been moments between us that have been, for lack of a better word…confusing."

"Cindy, _why_ are you bringing up all of this right now?" Jimmy snapped.

"And those moments _continued_," Cindy said forcefully, "to happen periodically as time went by. And when we got into the _fifth_ grade, things between us started changing."

"I don't have time to listen to this," Jimmy said with a dismissive shake of the head.

"You'll _make_ time to listen if you know what's good for you!" Cindy shot back. "In the fifth grade, things started changing! We still acted like we hated each other, but every so often, the tables turned. It was more than just little moments now. We had whole exchanges, sometimes even hours together at a time, where we acted civil toward one another other and we found, to our great surprise, that we actually enjoyed each other's company!"

Jimmy kept staring at the ground. He could have melted a hole in the island with the intensity of his gaze.

"We went on adventures together. We saved the world the world together. We even got stranded on this stupid _island_ together!" Cindy had stamped her foot when she said 'island.' "And you know what? You know what happened at the end of fifth grade?"

Jimmy said nothing.

"By some miracle, by some act of some god, not that you've ever believed in one, _you_ Jimmy Neutron," Cindy pointed her finger at Jimmy, "_you_, of your own free will and of sound body and mind, you kissed me! After Libby had been telling the whole school about all our little 'moments' together, you just took me aside and kissed me. No alibi. No explanation. You just did it."

Jimmy said nothing.

"And you know what happened then?" Cindy's voice had obtained a quaver. "After all that, like all the times before, things just went back to the way they were. Like that moment had never happened."

Jimmy said nothing.

"And then sixth grade happened. And things became even more different. We started going through puberty. We had hormones. We became attracted to each other – don't you dare deny it Jimmy– we became attracted to each other in ways we didn't even expect. But no matter how many moments, or exchanges, or hours we had together, things _always_ went back to the way they were!"

Jimmy said nothing.

"We got _so_ close Jimmy. So many times, we got _so_ close. We even became good friends! But it all never got past that point. This went on for the rest of seventh grade, and eighth grade. And in the ninth grade…"

Cindy had to stop. She needed a pause to collect her emotions. She couldn't break down just yet. She had to finish what she started.

"In the ninth grade, everything stopped." Cindy paused again. "Just like that. The Missionaries contacted you, and you practically spent the next four years in your lab, working on your application. We didn't have any little moments after that. I barely saw you. We barely spent anymore time together. You changed. And I thought I had lost you."

Once again, Jimmy said nothing.

"Fast-forward four years." Cindy's voice had regained its tough edge. With it, the rain intensified. She had to practically shout to make herself heard. "The Missionaries accepted you. Your dream became reality. And you finally had the resources to spread that dream throughout the universe. You were ecstatic. Except that as the clock wound down, so did you, and you finally had the time to realize how much you were going to miss everyone and everything once you had left planet earth. And for some reason for the past several weeks, you kept staring at my house. Yes, I noticed! And tonight, when I confronted you, you whisked me away on another adventure. And I had a _wonderful_ time, just like always. But Jimmy, we have less then an hour left."

Cindy gazed imploringly at the taciturn genius.

"Less than an hour left to make some sense out of all of this. But no matter which angle I come at, you either pretend like you don't understand what I'm saying, or you say nothing altogether." Cindy clenched her jaw tightly. "After all we've been through, how is it that when I tell you we need closure, you don't understand?"

Cindy didn't wait for an answer this time. She bridged the gap between her and Jimmy and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "For the love of God Jimmy, if there was ever a time you wanted to say anything to me, anything at all, now is that time!"

The rain was everywhere. It bore down heavily on them, making it difficult to keep their eyes open. Despite this challenge, Cindy forced hers open, making Jimmy look at them. It was green versus blue. Blue versus green. A staring contest that neither of them wanted to lose.

"I'm waiting!" Cindy said. Her lips curled around her teeth. "I asked you to say it on the ride over here, now I'm asking you to say it again." She waited. "We're out here alone on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Now's your chance! Say it!"

"How can you expect me to say it Cindy?" Jimmy exclaimed at last. He caught Cindy's hands in his and squeezed them. He shook his head. "How can you ask that from me?"

"It's easy!" Cindy shouted. "People've been saying it for centuries!" To this, Jimmy made no response. "Jimmy Neutron, you are leaving the Milky Way galaxy in a matter of hours!"

"THAT'S EXACTLY MY POINT!" Jimmy screeched.

A fork of lightning shot through the sky, followed by an explosion of thunder. While the rain had been coming down hard before, now, it began hammering down in punishing sheets.

"Don't you get it Cindy? The very reason you're telling me I _should_ say it is the very reason I _can't_ say it! I'm leaving in the morning; it could be years before I come back!"

"Don't give me this martyr crap Neutron! That's not the reason you can't say it!" Cindy jabbed a finger into Jimmy's chest. "You can't say it because you're afraid of what'll happen if you do!"

"No I'm _not_!" Jimmy tried to shove Cindy's finger away, but she shoved it right back at him.

"You just can't face the music!" she said. "You keep all your emotions bottled up inside, and now that it matters, you're trying to throw them all away!"

"THEN WHERE DO _YOU_ GET OFF, HUH?"

A flash of lightning revealed the fullness of Jimmy's face, distorted by fury.

"You're all too eager to pile all the blame on me, to say that I've changed, to order me to proclaim my feelings when you won't take any responsibility for yourself!"

Jimmy had had it with Cindy's tirade. He was taking the wheel.

"You're the one who started all this Cindy! Ever since we met in third grade, you've treated me like the plague and you never gave me a reason why!"

"YOU _KNOW_ WHY!" Cindy hollered.

"I SHOULD KNOW WHY BUT YOU NEVER CONFIRMED IT! YOU KEEP TELLING ME HOW I NEED TO SAY 'IT'," Jimmy stuck his thumb at himself, "BUT YOU'RE TOO MUCH OF A COWARD TO SAY 'IT' YOURSELF!"

"I'M _TRYING_!"

"THAT'S FUNNY, 'CAUSE ON THE WAY OVER HERE, I REMEMBER YOU SAYING THAT YOU DIDN'T WANT ANYTHING HAPPENING BETWEEN US THAT WE MIGHT REGRET!"

"I CHANGED MY MIND!"

"WHAT HAPPENS IF ONE OF US SAYS IT VORTEX?"

Jimmy had screamed so loud this time that both he and Cindy quieted.

"WHAT HAPPENS IF ONE OF US SAYS IT?" he repeated. "I'LL TELL YOU WHAT HAPPENS: NOTHING! I SAY IT, YOU SAY IT, IT DOESN'T MATTER! I'M LEAVING IN FIVE HOURS AND THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT!"

"_YOU WIMP!"_

Cindy wasn't going down without a fight. If this screaming match was being decided by volume, then she was giving it every decibel she had.

"YOU THINK THAT WE SHOULD AVOID ALL THIS ALTOGETHER BECAUSE IT WILL BE TOO PAINFUL?" she cried in disbelief. "I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU PAL, BUT I'D RATHER TAKE THE PAIN AND DEAL WITH IT NOW, THEN AVOID IT AND HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!"

"ONE OF THE MISSIONS I HEARD ABOUT LASTED FOR TEN YEARS CINDY!"

Lightning flashed just then, revealing not only fury, but terror, on Jimmy's face.

"TEN. YEARS."

Cindy spat out a mouthful of rainwater "GOOD! IF YOU WIND UP ON ONE LIKE THAT, MAYBE IT'LL GIVE YOU ENOUGH TIME TO GET YOUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT!"

The thunder exploded.

"It'll kill us," Jimmy croaked. His voice has grown hoarse from the shouting. He shook his head at Cindy, all his anger dissolving into despair. The rain had drenched his hair, making it fall into his eyes. "If we started something. If we tried to hold on to each other. Cindy, we could never make it."

"MAYBE IT'LL KILL YOU NEUTRON, BUT I'M NOT GOIN' DOWN SO EASILY!"

The thunder crashed again and the lightning followed, leaving Jimmy like a deer caught in headlights. He had run out of excuses, and he had run out of answers. It was clear now that no amount of deliberating would change Cindy's mind. She had made her choice, and with the iron will that only she possessed, that choice would never be altered.

Jimmy didn't know what to do.

"NOW FOR THE LAST TIME!" Cindy yelled. Her eyes flashed like flames. "THIS IS YOUR CHANCE! THE PART WHERE THE HERO TELLS THE GIRL WHAT HE'S BEEN WANTING TO SAY TO HER HIS WHOLE LIFE!"

The words had caught in Jimmy's throat. He wanted to say them. He tried to say them. But he just couldn't get them out. His heart hammered in his chest as he tried to.

And tried to.

And tried to.

"WELL?"

It was no use. It felt like Jimmy's vocal cords had been sabotaged. No matter how hard he tried to form the syllables, there just weren't any to draw from. His panicking climaxed when he saw Cindy stick out her arms and throw them down.

"FOR-GET IT!"

Jimmy had never seen Cindy so mad in his entire life.

"IF WE CAN'T EVEN COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER, THEN YOU'RE RIGHT! FORGET IT!"

Cindy turned on her heel and stormed away from Jimmy. She was headed out onto the beach, away from the hover-car. And she wasn't looking back.

"I wouldn't want to be with a jelly-boned wuss like you anyway! Go back home and blast out of the solar system for all I care! You can tell Libby to come with the hover-car and pick me up when you're gone!"

It was like it happened in slow motion. Jimmy saw her as she was leaving, the girl who had been the source of so much of his passion, and fear, for the past nine years. The thunder crashed, the lightning flashed, and the rain fell. His tongue was knots. He couldn't call out her name, in spite of how badly he wanted to. The only thing at this point that seemed to be working were his limbs. And as he saw her going away, the girl who had turned his life upside down, he only knew one thing. And that one thing, was that he had to get her back at all costs.

Jimmy started running.

Cindy, not thinking it could be possible to feel any lower, was about ten feet away from the hover-car when she was grabbed by the shoulders.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jimmy exclaimed.

Cindy violently pushed him away from her. "DON'T TOUCH ME NEUTRON! I TOLD YOU TO GO BACK HOME AND LEAVE ME BEHIND!"

She tried to turn around again, but Jimmy grabbed her by the arm.

"GET OFFA ME!"

Jimmy was determined to hold onto her if it was the last thing he did.

"No!"

"I SAID GET OFF!"

"NO!"

"I SAID...GET…_OFF_!"

Using all her strength, Cindy hit Jimmy's chest with both hands. Jimmy went flying backward, landing hard on his back, the breath knocked out of him. His eyes watered as he struggled to lift his head, only to find Cindy continuing her single-minded trek away from him. Trembling, he balled his hands into fists. Mud squirted out of his palms. His blood caught on fire.

At the same time the thunder exploded, so did Jimmy.

"_VORTEX!"_

By the time Cindy heard this, it was too late. She froze. Jimmy had caught up to her, and there was no time to react.

"_I–"_

Jimmy caught her by the shoulders.

"_SAID–"_

He forced her around.

"_NO!"_

He held her in place.

And then he crashed his lips against hers.

It was the second time Jimmy and Cindy had kissed in real life, but it was nothing like the first. The first kiss was private, sweet-tempered, and almost as an afterthought. This kiss on the other hand, while it was private, shared none of those other attributes. It was raw. It was harsh. It was primal. And it was completely premeditated.

Jimmy crushed Cindy's lips with every ounce of strength he possessed. He went at it until muscle failure. He didn't care if it hurt, he didn't care if it left a mark. In fact, he hoped it left a mark. He hoped that the grooves he left in Cindy's lips from pushing them against her teeth were so deep, that they never wore off. He hoped that those grooves became embedded within her flesh forever, so that no matter what happened, she always had something to remember him by.

When the kiss finally did end, Jimmy moved his face away. He had given it all he had. He hadn't held back. He didn't know what this did to him, Cindy, or his coming departure, but he did know that ultimately, he had played his hand.

"YOU IDIOT!"

Cindy slapped Jimmy hard on the face, causing the teen genius to stagger back a couple of steps. When he had recovered, he looked at the blonde, finding her face to be a swirling tide of emotion. The rain had lessened somewhat, and was falling in a steady patter, down Cindy's hair and cheeks. As Cindy panted, tears brimmed on her eyelids.

"Well," she said with a snarl. She gave Jimmy a look of utter contempt. "My turn!"

Before Jimmy could react, Cindy had grabbed a hold of both of his cheeks and delivered a violent kiss of her own. The force of her action drove them both to the ground.

"You…" she said, kissing him in between words, "Are so…stupid."

Jimmy gasped for breath, burying a kiss into Cindy's neck. "I know," he wheezed, huffing and puffing. "I'm a Class A fool…huh?"

"You're telling me…" Cindy replied, planting one on his forehead. "…Neutron."

They did nothing for the next several minutes except plaster their lips all over each other. During their silent passion, the storm began dying down, the lightning and thunder gone, the rain lessening with every passing second. When Jimmy and Cindy had kissed each other enough, they held one another by the face. Cindy, who was on top of Jimmy, peered into his deep blue eyes.

"I'm so sorry Jimmy!" she cried, tears now running down her face. She pressed down her head, so that her eyes were as close to Jimmy's as physically possible. Even so, this was nowhere near close enough. "I should have told you how I felt. I should have told you that I loved you…since I was only eight-years-old." Cindy turned and placed her lips near Jimmy's ear. "Since the moment I first saw you. So long ago."

She buried her head against Jimmy's neck.

"Don't cry Cindy," Jimmy said. He massaged her along the back, wishing he could rub out her misery. He let out a long sigh. "Don't cry." He pulled her, the girl he loved, against himself. The pain of regret was overwhelming. "I had my chances too. So many chances that I never took. I'm just as guilty."

"Oh Jimmy. I'm so scared to lose you!"

Jimmy propped her up, so that they could look into each other's eyes. He caressed her cheek. "For now we have this moment," he told her. "For now…we have each other."

He closed his eyes, Cindy closed hers, and they embraced each other until their strength ran out.

"Oh Jimmy!"


	5. Goodbye

**Disclaimer – I don't own Jimmy Neutron nor any other referenced media material.**

Hands intertwined, Jimmy and Cindy were lying on their backs, gazing up at the stars. The freak storm had blown itself out and, in its stead, had left a clear night sky just like the one they'd seen before leaving Retroville. In fact, being on the island and away from civilization, they could see the sky with greater clarity than was ever possible at home. Jimmy and Cindy decided that this was the best way to spend their remaining time on the island. Jimmy set an alarm on his watch to remind them of their looming deadline. Checking the watch manually had been driving them mad.

"Well," Jimmy said with a sigh. He kept his gaze pinned skyward. "This is, without a doubt, the longest night I can ever remember."

"You said it Neutron," Cindy said. She sounded every bit as weary as Jimmy.

Jimmy smiled. He enjoyed the way it felt to have Cindy agree with him. To ensure himself that this wasn't a dream, and that he was in fact laying next to her, he gave her hand a squeeze. He liked the slim, soft quality of her fingers.

"Mmm, keep doing that, it feels good," Cindy mumbled, closing her eyes.

Jimmy was all too happy to oblige.

The pair laid like this for what seemed like a long time. While time had raced during the previous three hours, when they had been tramping around the island together, now that they had slowed down, time seemed to slow down as well. Both Jimmy and Cindy were grateful for this.

"I can't believe it's taken us all this time," Jimmy said. He felt a lump in his throat, that feeling of regret surfacing once again. "I've been such an _idiot_." Jimmy brought his head up, just so that he could slam it back down on the muddy sand.

"We've _both_ been," Cindy insisted. Her twin emeralds glazed over. "Smartest two kids in class, but when it comes to love, we flunk out with flying colors."

Jimmy snickered. He then shook his head, unable to believe what had transpired in the past five hours. "All those years of sniping and degrading each other, or virtually ignoring one another. That's what's gone to waste Cindy." He folded one his hands behind his head. "Those little moments that you were talking about earlier? They weren't what were wasted. It was the time we devoted to arguments and ignorance."

Jimmy shook his head again. That lump in his throat refused to disappear. "The times we could have had together," he said wistfully. "The years."

"Can you imagine that?" Cindy said. "If we had the chance to do it all over again?"

Jimmy laughed. "Yeah, can you picture us as high school sweethearts?"

Cindy was cracking up herself. "Oh man. We would've broken up and gotten back together about twenty times."

"About thirty times."

Both Jimmy and Cindy thought this was very funny. They chuckled as they held onto each other's hands, wishing that this moment could last forever.

"We'd break up before literature," Cindy said.

"And get back together during chemistry," Jimmy finished.

The couple laughed even harder at this. Perhaps it wasn't quite as funny as they acted, but they needed some source of amusement. The dramatic turn-of-events the night had taken had made them giddy. It was a much-needed respite from what faced them in only a few short hours.

"Oh man," Cindy said, wiping an eye with her free hand. A grin was on her face. "Seriously though, do you think we would have made a good couple?"

"Absolutely," Jimmy chirped. "If we had gotten together back in ninth grade, we would have been one of those couples that everyone just associated with Retroville High. Even if we broke up everyday, we would have been one of those couples that were just…well, there. One of those that everyone knew."

Cindy sighed. Her spirits sank a little. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be." She turned her head to the side, feeling the squishy mud beneath her. She gazed out at the trees marking the beginning of the jungle. "Jimmy?" she said. "Why do you think it took us so long to admit our feelings for one another?"

She expected silence from Jimmy, like before when she had screamed questions at him, but she was surprised when the teen genius answered her almost immediately.

"I think you already know the answer to that one Cindy," Jimmy said. He craned his neck so he could stare at the blonde. He then returned his attention to the stars. "We didn't admit our feelings because we were scared." He let out a mirthless snort. "You hit the nail right on the head earlier tonight. We had all these feelings for each other and we were just too afraid of what would happen if we made them known. On that one at least, I'm guilty as charged."

Cindy gave Jimmy's hand a squeeze. "Then I'm your partner in crime," she said.

Jimmy sent the blonde a coy look. "That was pretty good. You should consider writing that one down."

Cindy giggled. "Thanks."

The couple went quiet. By now, they had said what needed to be said. Their feelings were out, and it happened to be mutual. Now, there was only one question remaining.

"So," Cindy said. "What do we do now?"

Jimmy didn't answer this question right away. The truth was, he didn't know what they were going to do now. He had an inkling of what was going to happen, but even of that, he was not quite sure anymore.

"I don't know Cindy," Jimmy said. "I just don't know."

Another silence ensued.

"You're still planning on leaving. Aren't you?"

Jimmy squeezed Cindy's hand hard and closed his eyes. He wished she hadn't asked that.

"I understand," she said simply. She was sad, but not broken-hearted. Cindy Vortex's will of iron had remained intact.

"How can you understand?" Jimmy replied. He wanted Cindy to understand, but at the same time, didn't wish for her to suffer the pain that came along with it. As a genius, Jimmy knew all-too-well the burden that knowledge could pose.

"I just do," Cindy said. "We all knew you were meant for bigger things than Retroville Jimmy. We knew it since the first day you got here. This is the chance for you to fulfill your destiny." Her voice lowered, and then she said: "To fulfill your dream."

"Dreams can come at a hefty price."

"Which is all the more why they're worth it. When something costs you, you appreciate it more."

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders. "Can't argue with social psychology."

"No you can't," Cindy said with a laugh. She became serious. Her voice lowered again. "Jimmy, there's something I just want to let you know. And that's…" She let out the deepest of sighs. "…No matter what, no matter what happens in the next five hours, or in the next five years, I just want you to know that–"

A loud rumbling sound interrupted Cindy. The sound had come from Jimmy's watch.

"_Warning. Jimmy Neutron, this is your ten-minute warning. I repeat, this is your ten-minute warning. This is your ten minute warning._"

Jimmy looked at Cindy. Cindy looked at Jimmy. Their hands were still intertwined, not wanting to heed the alarm, not wanting to heed the call of duty.

"_Warning…Warning…Warning…Warning."_

* * *

The little monkey was staring up at Jimmy and Cindy, as though it knew something was about to happen. The couple did not exactly know how to say goodbye to Paul, but in spite of this, they tried the best they could. Since most experiments equated rhesus monkey intelligence with that of a human toddler, they decided to treat Paul as such.

"Paul," Jimmy said. He and Cindy had brought Paul to the jungle's edge, where they thought Paul would be less likely to follow them. Presently, they were stooped down in front of him, so that they were roughly at eye-level.

"Jimmy and I have to go now," Cindy said. She spoke in what Jimmy thought was a very maternal voice. A smile flickered on the genius's features as he entertained the notion. He wondered how good of a mother Cindy Vortex would make.

Jimmy cut off his train of thought, focusing again on the task at hand. "Cindy's right Paul," he said. "Cindy and I have to go far away. And…we might not come back."

The little monkey simply stared at them. It was impossible to tell if their words were having any effect.

"We just wanted to tell you that we really enjoyed seeing you again, and spending time with you tonight," Cindy said.

"And that we're going to miss you a whole lot," Jimmy added. He shot a sidelong look at Cindy, who glanced back at him. They both nodded at each other, coming to a silent agreement. They had said all they could say.

"Goodbye Paul," Cindy said.

For the longest time, the little monkey stood completely still, gazing at the humans with its gleaming, yellow eyes. For a moment, Jimmy worried that Paul was completely oblivious to the situation, and that he wouldn't understand at all when he and Cindy tried to leave him. Perhaps it had been too ambitious, bidding farewell to their pet primate. Maybe, all they had done was confuse the animal.

Just as Jimmy was about to suggest that he and Cindy turn around, Paul chirped softly under his breath. He crawled over to Cindy, whom he had seemed to become especially fond of, and grabbed her hand. Hobbling, since it was difficult for him to walk on two legs, Paul moved toward Jimmy. Very carefully, Paul placed Cindy's hand over Jimmy's, so that the two were touching. The little monkey withdrew his own hand and stared at his two friends, as if he were seeking their approval. He backed up a couple of steps, stared at them one last time, and dashed off into the jungle.

Jimmy and Cindy stood rooted to the spot for a long while, minding their little friend. They then took one last visual inventory of the island and made their way back to the hover-car. Their fingers were still interlocked. It was only then, during his final sweep of the island, that Jimmy saw the old, faded message carved on the tree, its lines accentuated under the moonlight.

'J + C Forever.'

* * *

The return home proved to be a much quieter affair than the initial, outgoing ride. Since their time limit couldn't afford them any mishaps, Jimmy avoided using the autopilot and steered the hover-car manually. This made the environment even less conducive to talking, though neither had much to say in the first place. Both Jimmy and Cindy were trying to savor every last moment. Doing so required their full concentration.

As they flew by, Cindy was also trying to take into account the ocean surrounding them. She knew it was impossible, but a small part of her hoped she could remember the route by the waves. So that she could have one last thing to remember. One last part of her night with Jimmy that she could hold onto.

As for Jimmy, he kept seeing the message carved on the tree.

* * *

They landed quietly on the Neutrons' front lawn, next to the clubhouse. Jimmy climbed out of the hover-car first, and then went over to help Cindy. He took her by the hands and guided her out of the craft, until she had placed both feet securely on the grass. He gazed at her sneakers, finding that he could not take his eyes off of them. Cindy, it appeared, was having similar difficulty.

"I uh, have to close down the lab before I leave," Jimmy said. He still had his head down.

"I know," Cindy replied. "I overheard you earlier when you were talking to Goddard."

"Right," Jimmy said. He tottered on his feet a bit, mulling over his words. "You could come with me if you wanted to." He chewed his lip. "You know, to get one last look at the place. I figure it's been a while since you've seen it anyway."

Cindy didn't respond at right away, forcing Jimmy to look at her for the first time since exiting the hover-car. He felt his heart sink as he saw the blonde shaking her head.

"I can't," she said, reluctance in every syllable. Her eyes revealed the effort the phrase had cost. "If I go in there with you, I might not be able to drag myself out."

Jimmy was about to argue with her when he stopped himself. He wanted them to spend every last second together, but that was the thing. That was what he wanted. It was not what Cindy wanted. Their time on the island together, particularly their fateful shouting match, had taught him that part of every relationship was give and take.

"I understand," he said, repeating Cindy's own words back to her. "So…" he continued. The word had come out quieter than a whisper. "This is it."

"This is it," Cindy affirmed.

The two teens stared at the ground. It had become hard to look at each other again.

"Will I see you in the morning?" Jimmy asked.

Although Jimmy's actual departure from earth would be a private affair, he would exchange farewells with friends and family before heading to the launch site. He had explained this to Cindy earlier in the hover-car.

The blonde was quiet for a bit. Then she bridged the distance between her and Jimmy and threw her arms around him.

"Oh Jimmy I don't _know_!" she cried, burying her face into the side of his neck. "You just came back into my life, and now I'm going to have to lose you again. I'm all torn up inside; I don't know if I can take it."

"You can take anything Cindy," Jimmy said, stroking her along the back. "You're so strong, stronger than I'll ever be." He pulled back, so they could look at each other. "You're going to make it through this." He snorted. "I think I'm the one who should be worrying about himself. For so long, I was so sure about my decision, but now, my resolve's beginning to falter." He swallowed. "I'm not as sure as I once was."

Cindy tightened her grip around the genius. "Don't lose hope Jimmy." She looked at him, eyes full of emotion. "You're on the right path, I know it. The universe _needs_ you." She shook him for emphasis. "If you turn your back, you'll always regret it. A thousand times more than any regret you have right now."

Jimmy inhaled deeply, wishing he could hold the aroma. The jasmine scent would be among the first memories to go. "Oh Vortex," he sighed. "Even now at the end…I still hate it when you're right."

They clung on to each other, neither wanting to let go. They knew that once they did, they were taking one step closer to a far more substantial separation.

They released one another. They waited, feeling the seconds tick by.

"If you can manage it," Jimmy said, head down, "I'd really like to see you one last time."

"I'll try my best," Cindy replied. It took all her strength to dam the tears.

"Goodbye Cindy," Jimmy said.

"Goodbye Jimmy," Cindy said.

"I'll never forget you."

Cindy sighed, a mere micrometer away from a sob. "Neither will I."

"...Goodbye."

"… ...Goodbye."

Jimmy turned around, toward the clubhouse entrance. He began heading for it. He stopped. He turned around again, discovering that Cindy was looking at him. The emotion welled in his chest.

"Goodbye!" he said almost desperately. Cindy folded her hands together.

"Goodbye!" she said even louder, eyes widening.

They stared at each other one last time. Blue against green. Green against blue. Then, for the final time, their heads went back down.

"Goodbye," Jimmy whispered, devoid of breath. Without another word, he turned on his heel and left.

"Goodbye," Cindy whispered back. She stopped trying to hold back the tears, since they had already escaped.

* * *

It was the longest elevator ride Jimmy could remember. He waited inside the metal chamber, feeling trapped by both the walls, and his emotions. When it finally ended, he exited through the double-doors and trudged over to his main computer workstation. Not too long ago, he had planned on doing a final tour of his lab, to soak up and remember as many of its details as he could. As it turned out, he simply walked past everything, missing the fact that most of his things had already been put away, until muscle memory guided him over to his chair. When he reached the chair however, Jimmy discovered that he was not the only individual inside the lab. This was contrary to what he had previously assumed.

Standing in front of Jimmy's chair, or sitting in front of it rather, was Jimmy's faithful companion, Goddard. The mechanical canine stared at his owner. Over the years, Jimmy thought he had reached the point where he could interpret Goddard's body language, but now, as he observed the robotic dog, he found that Goddard was nothing short of mysterious. While Jimmy had expected his pet to be upset at being left alone, he found Goddard's silent temperament puzzling.

"I'm sorry for forgetting you boy, I–"

Jimmy went silent. The first thing he realized was that his workstation had already been cleaned up, which he hadn't done himself. The second thing he realized was that there were dozens and dozens of thin, square-like objects littering the floor in front of Goddard. Jimmy had only to glance at them once to see that the objects were all clones. The emotion welled in his chest once more.

For those dozens and dozens of thin, square-like objects all bore the same image, or at least part of the same image. That image was Cindy Vortex. They were Cindy's fifth grade school picture, the one he had obtained numerous copies of and had used for testing his girl-eating plant. Goddard must have found them as he was cleaning up the lab for Jimmy. Every one of those pictures, symbolically, had its blonde-haired subject bitten out of the frame.

Jimmy gazed at his dog, finding Goddard's posture more mysterious than ever. Somehow, there seemed to be the faintest trace of understanding in those expressionless, luminous eyes.

"Oh Goddard," Jimmy said. He knelt in front of the dog, absently patting him on the head while picking up one of the ruined photos and studying it. "What am I going to do now?"

* * *

Cindy was so close to the stairs, she had almost thought she had gotten away with it. She hadn't made a single sound while she traveled from the front door, across the living room. When she reached the foot of the stairs, however, she found her mother waiting for her on the landing, arms crossed and eyes hard. It appeared that Cindy still had a thing or two to learn about stealth.

"Fortunately Cindy, I'm not as stupid as some mothers might have been, and I avoided calling the police to send out a search party." Sasha's eyes glinted in the darkness. Her voice lowered to a deadly tone. "Where on earth, have you been?"

In what was the only time she had defied her mother in recent years, Cindy stared right back at Sasha. The blonde knew she was supposed to lower her gaze and make all attempts at appearing contrite, but tonight, she simply wasn't having it.

"You have _no_ idea," Cindy growled, sounding even deadlier than her mother.

In that moment, even the unshakable Sasha Vortex was moved by how those twin emeralds burned.

* * *

Although he had the time now, Jimmy found that he couldn't sleep. His lab had been cleaned and locked, his bag had been packed, and his alarm had been set. Yet despite the genius's best efforts, he could not rest for even a second.

Jimmy turned on his side, finding the urge once again overwhelming. He reached out his hand and tentatively pulled back the curtain, so he could stare at the Vortex house. As expected, the light in Cindy's window was off. Her bedroom, for all he could tell, was completely dark.

As he gazed at that window, unable to sleep at the end of the longest night of his life, Jimmy found it ironic that he was doing what he had been doing when the night had just begun.

**AN: Hopefully this chapter didn't seem too fast-paced. I'm finding that I could easily extend this story at this point, but since the beginning and middle were of a certain length (and I'm not even sure if the middle was long enough), I want to prevent things from dragging out too much. Anyway, as always, thanks so much for reviewing guys. It really means the world. We're approaching the end, but the story isn't over just yet. There are still some major decisions to be made for our characters :)**


	6. The Departure: Part I

**Disclaimer – I don't own Jimmy Neutron or any other referenced media material.**

"_Jimmy Neutron, wake up. Jimmy Neutron, wake up. Jimmy Neutron, wake up. Jimmy Neutron, wake up."_

After his alarm chimed for a fourth time, Jimmy Neutron did indeed wake up. He had been in a deep sleep, and found rousing from that sleep very difficult. Nevertheless, even in his groggy state, he knew that today was _the_ day, and that he could not afford to ignore his alarm.

Jimmy rolled over to the side of his bed, where he waited a moment before putting both feet on the ground. He wanted to make sure that he could support his own weight. When he was confident, he stood up and stumbled past the sleeping form of Goddard over to his nightstand, so he could take his watch and turn off the alarm. Like most people, Jimmy regarded his alarm with the utmost disdain.

As Jimmy swiped his watch off the nightstand and pressed a button, he noticed the time on the watch's digital display. He stared it for a moment longer and laughed, finding it highly amusing.

He had slept a grand total of ten minutes.

* * *

Across the street, in the bedroom directly opposite from Jimmy, Cindy Vortex hadn't slept a wink. She had briefly attempted doing so a couple of times over the past three hours, after she had resolved things with her mother, but Cindy soon found that sleeping was at the bottom of her priority list. There were so many other things that needed her attention.

The blonde was standing on her floor, unable to find a more suitable location. Every so often, she peeked out her window to check the activity going on outside and inside the Neutron residence. She hadn't seen any sign of Jimmy, but she had already seen Carl and Sheen walk up to the Neutron's front doorstep, where they were let in by Mr. and Mrs. Neutron.

A war was raging inside Cindy, and at the moment, she didn't know which side was going to win. Part of her wanted to walk up to the Neutron's doorstep and ring their bell herself, so she could give the departing genius a farewell alongside the rest of his family and friends. The other part of her however, wanting nothing more than to curl up into a ball underneath her blankets and wait for this agonizing morning to pass. She had already said goodbye to Jimmy after all, and hadn't promised that she'd see him today. She was perfectly within her rights to remain in her room and wait it out.

Unfortunately, to Cindy at least, her predicament was not so simple. It wasn't just a matter of whether she wanted to see Jimmy again or not. Rather, it was a matter of what consequences either of those decisions would entail. She could drag herself over to the Neutron residence right now, but what would be the effect? Would they take well to seeing each other again? Would they be able to handle it, being in close proximity with one another? Would Cindy try to convince Jimmy to stay or would she encourage him to leave? And if Cindy chose not to see Jimmy again, she still had questions to face. Would they be okay with it? Would Cindy be acting on her own moral behalf, or was she just clamming up out of cowardice?

That, and a hundred other riddles and concerns swarmed the inside of Cindy. So many things were distracting her mind; it was difficult to concentrate on any one thing. It was like she wanted her brain to work, but the gears simply weren't turning.

In her own, personal experience, there was only one thing Cindy could do when her mind had reached this point. And as it turned out, this thing could actually be very conducive to her situation.

Running over the idea in her head, Cindy withdrew a piece of paper from the tray of her printer. She placed the paper on her desk, snatched up a pen, and sat down. She considered her words for a few seconds, and then began to write.

'_Dear Jimmy,'_

* * *

Jimmy carefully made his way down the steps, bag in hand, Goddard at his heel. He was cognizant of the fact that every step he made, he was closer to exiting the second floor of his house, possibly for good. There was no guarantee after today that he would ever set foot in this establishment again.

As Jimmy made it down the final steps, he found that everyone was already waiting for him. His living room was bursting with people.

"Hey, there he is," Sheen said.

Once Jimmy had been spotted, a dozen lines of greeting seemed to break out at once. It was overwhelming, the smiling, eager faces on so many family members and friends he had gathered during his tenure in Retroville. It was all Jimmy could do to hold back the tears.

"Hey Jimmy, I wanted to give you one of my Ultralord action figures as a going-away present. I thought he could travel the universe with you and help defend the weak!"

"No, take _my_ present Jim. It's a llama of the day calendar from the Lovable Llamas Society. This way, you'll always know what day it is here on earth."

"Jimmy doesn't want action figures or calendars you guys! If he's going to be in outer space for a long time, he'll need to listen to some jams. Here Jimmy, I downloaded all the latest stuff on this MP3 player."

"You can take my ice cream stash kid. The way business is going, I could use some intergalactic customers, yeah."

"Neutron, you gotta take my skateboard with you. If you ever bring it back, you can say my board's gone places no one else has even _dreamed_ of."

"Hey Jimmy?"

"Jimmy?"

"Jimmy?"

"Jimmy?"

"Jimmy?"

"Jimmy?"

"Jimmy?"

"Hey Jimmy? Hey Jimmy? Hey Jimmy?"

"Alright everyone, alright!"

Hugh Neutron had interrupted the escalating interrogations, whistling and raising his hands in the air to catch everyone's attention. He waited until the crowd quieted down before continuing.

"Now I know everyone has a lot they want to say to the Jimbo before he goes, but we're on a tight schedule this morning. Jim-Jam's ride could be here any minute. So if there's anything you want to say, please try and make it brief. Thank you, and afterwards please come and stay with us for coffee and…pie."

Jimmy gazed at all the anxious faces, waiting for the first person to come forward. He visually navigated the crowd, hoping to catch a flash of blonde hair or a glint of green eyes. After he had gone through and examined every head however, he found none.

'Cindy, where are you?'

* * *

Still sitting at her desk, Cindy read over the message she had written one last time. It had come out surprisingly well, like it had been laboring inside her head for weeks as opposed to being scribbled out of some whim, early in the morning. Cindy didn't quite know what she was going to do with the message just yet, but it least it was there, and was ready for her whenever she decided its fate. The important thing, for the moment at least, was that Cindy's head felt clearer and she felt more capable of making a decision.

Without warning, Cindy's bedroom door was pushed open and in strolled Sasha Vortex. The severe green-eyed woman settled against the doorframe, studying her daughter carefully. Her eyes went from Cindy's posture, to Cindy's face, and finally to the note lying on Cindy's desk. The blonde considered removing the note from her mother's probing gaze but decided that by now, any attempt at nonchalance was futile.

Mrs. Vortex turned her attention to Cindy's window, where the curtain was ever so slightly parted, so that the viewer could see through to the Neutron house. The green-eyed woman returned her focus to Cindy and crossed her arms. She let the quiet linger for a moment longer.

"Not that it's any concern of mine," Sasha began, "but I believe the boy is scheduled to leave at any second."

Cindy said nothing. She stared at her desk, running her hand over her message. As always, her mother had a way of extracting every last bit of silence, so that when she finally did speak, each word hit its mark.

"It's no secret that I never cared for him Cynthia," Sasha continued. Her eyes were again peering through Cindy's window. "When you were children, I told you to stay away from him. I told you that some day, that boy was going to blow himself up. And while many explosions did occur as a result of his own doing, thankfully, you were never inside any of them."

Cindy began shaking her left foot. She stared down at it, the speed of her movement making it look like she had two.

"But no matter what I said, it seemed you had a mind of your own when it came to him. The more I told you to stay away from him, the more it seemed you wanted to do the opposite. I never believed you disliked the boy as much as you claimed, and once you two began middle school, my suspicions were confirmed."

Cindy sat back in her seat. She slumped a little, unable to find a comfortable position.

"It's been nine years since that family moved into the house across the street. Had I known the consequences of that move back then, I might have protested, but the past can't be undone. Instead, I've gotten to watch you and that boy during these nine years. I've watched as you've gone from supposedly hating him, to becoming his friend, to pining for him while he holed himself in that lab of his to prepare for whatever adventure he's embarking on today. I also watched as he brought you home last night, inside the hover-car, as I believe it's called."

Mrs. Vortex paused. She then sighed, giving Cindy one of the very few glimpses she had ever gotten into her mother's emotions.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but after all those years of watching you two, only one thing comes to mind as I watch this morning unfold."

Ever so gradually, Sasha gazed at Cindy out of her periphery. As she did so, the emotion became apparent in Sasha's otherwise steely, green eyes. The emotion was the tiniest drop of anger.

"Just what, Cynthia, do you think you're doing here, sitting here in your room?"

Cindy made no reply.

"I didn't raise a stupid daughter, and I certainly didn't raise a coward. Perhaps I need to re-phrase the question for you. Why, Cynthia, are you sitting here in your room, scribbling a silly note on your desk, when the boy I can't seem to keep you away from is getting ready to leave the planet, for what may be a permanent leave of absence?"

Cindy jumped to her feet. "I'm doing what needs to be done!"

Mrs. Vortex was unfazed. "Is that what you call it?" Her gaze briefly went to Cindy's chair, and then to the desk where her note still laid. Sasha's green eyes had regained their typical, chilly quality. "Like I said Cynthia, it is none of my concern. Perhaps I don't fully understand the situation. I just can't see what reason would require you to stay put here, while you could be across the street with the rest of them, trying to give yourself some peace."

Sasha gazed one last time at the window. "That's what I would have done at least. When I was your age."

With that, Cindy's mother exited the room, leaving Cindy standing in the middle of the floor once again, alone. Cindy stared at the receding form of her mother, and then at the message lying on the desk. The war that had been raging inside her had reignited, though Cindy felt that it would soon reach its climax. Until that moment came however…

Cindy pressed her hands against her temples. "What am I going to do?" she said, the pressure mounting. She went over to her window, peeking past the curtain at the Neutron house. Her forehead hit the pane "What am I going to do?"

* * *

Forcing the smile on his face, Jimmy reluctantly accepted the skateboard. He peered down at it, studying its make and quality, and then regarded the donor with a look best described as polite frustration.

"Seriously though, I want you to take it," Nick said.

Jimmy swallowed one sarcastic retort after another. This would have been so much easier if Nick wasn't actually being serious.

"All you have to do Neutron is take the skateboard with you when you visit an alien planet, roll it around for just a little bit on that planet's soil, not scratching the wheels of course, and then, take it with you when you go to another planet." Nick gazed smugly at Jimmy, as if he had just laid out the most masterful plan in existence.

"Um, Nick?" Jimmy said gently, not wanting to offend the boy. He cleared his throat, though he had nothing obstructing his vocal cords. "As much as I would like to accept this, as I've been telling everyone else, I can't take any nonessential items with me when I go to launch." Jimmy held the skateboard out in front of Nick.

"Just take it!" Nick shouted. He shoved the skateboard back at Jimmy, slamming it into Jimmy's chest. The next thing Jimmy knew, Nick was running in the opposite direction with his hands over his face, bawling at the top of his lungs.

"Oh Scooter!" he wailed. "I'm gonna miss you buddy!"

An eyebrow rose on Jimmy's forehead. He watched as Nick dashed out of the house, onto the street. "Scooter?" Jimmy's curiosity morphed into confusion as he re-examined Nick's gift.

"Wow, that was weird."

Sheen had taken Nick's spot in front of Jimmy, flanked on either side by Carl and Libby. The lanky teen was chuckling, throwing amused glances at his two friends. "I told you guys he wasn't cool. _Now_ do you believe me?"

"Shut up Sheen," Libby said. She elbowed her boyfriend hard in the stomach, and then motioned to Jimmy. The three friends aborted their conversation and acknowledged their fourth friend, who had placed Nick's skateboard off to the side. The four stared at each other silently, the gravity of their situation finally settling in.

"Jimmy," Libby said, unsure of where to begin. "I–"

Jimmy rushed forward and enveloped all his friends in one, giant hug. They stayed in this position, like they were draining every last, possible emotion.

"Stop crying Carl," Sheen sobbed, though Sheen's eyes were the only ones currently leaking tears. "We can't let Jimmy know how much we're going to miss him."

Jimmy squeezed his friends, wishing mere words could express the depths of his gratitude. He had shared almost every day of his life in Retroville with these people. It was impossible to thank them enough for their companionship.

"We're going to miss you _so_ much Jimmy!" Carl exclaimed. Miraculously, his eyes had remained dry thus far. He was trying to remain strong for his friend.

"I t-told you not to say that!" Sheen cried.

As Sheen and Carl exchanged various grievances, Libby leaned into Jimmy and put her lips next to his ear. "Jimmy?" she whispered, wanting to first make sure that he could hear her. When she saw Jimmy nodding, she continued. "Has she said anything? Has she contacted you at all?"

Libby retracted, so she and Jimmy could see one another. Managing a small, sad smile, Jimmy nodded again. "Yeah. Last night we…had a conversation we should have had a long time ago."

Libby's eyes widened. "For real?"

Jimmy nodded again, still wearing his smile. "For real."

"Jimmy that's–" Libby's eyebrows furrowed "–W-Where is she now?" Libby did a quick search of the room but couldn't find her target. Her attention flew back to Jimmy. "You want me to get her? 'Cause I swear, I'll drag her skinny butt over here if I have to."

Jimmy put one of his hands on Libby's and shook his head. "I don't think so Libby." His blue eyes were dreary, but they were accepting. "I think we said everything we needed to say. She said she'd try to come see me this morning, but…it might be too hard for her."

"Oh Jimmy," Libby said. "She should be here right now. You two should see each other…just one last time."

"I don't think there's going to be one last time Libby," Jimmy said.

As if on cue, the doorbell to the Neutron residence rang. Silence ensued, followed by another ringing, and then a loud knocking.

Jimmy froze. The entire living room had gone silent. Mustering up his courage, Jimmy released his friends, went around them, and headed toward the door. His heart hammered with every step, his palms going sweaty. He hoped he'd be able to handle what waited for him on the other side.

Jimmy paused when he reached the door. He drew a deep breath, and then put his hand on the knob. He drew another breath. He opened the door.

Several beings stood before him, one of them being a familiar tall, gray humanoid. They wore long black robes, each emblazoned with a crest that bore initials from a language unknown to man. Translated to English, the initials were 'IM.'

"Nice to see you again Jimmy," said the gray individual. "We must be leaving quite abruptly I'm afraid." The alien gave Jimmy a sympathetic smile. "Are you ready?"

* * *

Cindy was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Gone was her will of iron, as was, most likely, her common sense. She was reduced to a cauldron of emotion, each one pushing her in a slightly different direction, leaving her feeling increasingly helpless with every passing minute.

"I don't know what to do," she exclaimed. She was still standing in the middle of her bedroom floor, rooted to the spot by fear. She was so preoccupied, she hadn't glanced at her window in minutes.

"I don't know what to do!"

* * *

Bag in hand, one foot away from exiting his house, Jimmy turned around. He looked at his family and friends, who were still congregated in the living room. He gave them a sad smile.

"Well," he said. He couldn't think of anything else. "This is it." The others simply stared back at him. Not one word was said. "So long."

"Knock 'em dead Jimmy!" Sheen said, breaking the silence. He pumped a fist in the air, like his friend had already won some great victory.

"Yeah, bring some order to this universe," Libby said. She crossed her arms and looked at the others, smiling out of the corner of her mouth. "Seriously, there are some messed-up life forms out there."

Carl just looked at his feet. His best friend of nine years was leaving, and there was nothing adequate that he could think of saying.

Jimmy's gaze shifted off to the far right, where his mother and father were standing, alone. He observed them with a little smile. "Mom? Dad?"

"Oh sweetie we love you," Judy exclaimed. Her and Hugh rushed over to envelope their son in a farewell hug.

"I love you guys too," Jimmy said, pressing his face against his parents. "You guys are the best."

"You have our blessing Jim-Jam," Hugh said.

The three Neutrons released each other. Each one wanted more time, more words, and more embracing, but they knew that it was finally over. Their little family, for the first time in seventeen years, was about to be separated.

Jimmy gave everyone in the room one last smile. He hefted his bag over his shoulder and was about to turn around, when he was interrupted by a loud barking.

"Goddard!" Jimmy said. A partition formed in the crowd and through it came the padding form of Jimmy's robotic dog. Jimmy dropped his bag to the floor and went to his knees, so he could properly greet his faithful companion. "Hey boy," he said, taking hold of his pet's face as he was licked. "Couldn't let me forget you again, huh?"

Goddard whined softly.

"I'll miss you too boy." Jimmy wrapped his arms around Goddard's bulky frame, pressing his cheek against the cold metal. As he did, a thought came to mind. There was something Goddard could do for him while he was away.

"Goddard?" Jimmy pulled back. He made sure that the mechanical canine was reading him, and that he fully understood what Jimmy was about to say. Jimmy held Goddard by the head. "Listen to me very carefully boy. I know I told you to watch over Mom and Dad, but there's one more person I want you to keep an eye on."

Goddard's luminescent eyes stared vacantly at Jimmy.

"I want you to watch over Cindy. For at least the next few months or so, I want you to watch over her every day. Make sure she's eating, keeping her room clean, all that stuff. And if she doesn't want to leave her room, or if she's sleeping all the time, don't let her. Libby will make sure she gets out and does things, but I want you to take over when Libby isn't there. When I'm gone, Cindy, Mom, and Dad are your number one priorities. Got that?"

Goddard barked. Jimmy wrapped his arms around his dog one last time, and let him go. Jimmy scooped up his bag and rose to his feet.

"Goodbye everyone," Jimmy said. He gave them what he knew would his final smile for a long time.

The crowd waved and replied with various, out-of-key farewells.

Lowering his gaze, Jimmy turned around and left.

* * *

"I have to do it!" Cindy concluded at long last. Her hands were balled into fists. Her storm of emotions had reached a level that she could no longer tolerate, and in the crescendo, she had somehow found clarity.

"Mom was right, I can't just sit here and do nothing. No matter how painful it is or what the consequences are, it just isn't right."

Her mind made up, Cindy glanced one last time out the window.

And was horrified at what she saw.

"NO!"

Cindy dashed over to her window and ripped the curtains wide open. Out on the street, a large and unfamiliar black car was rolling away, due east. In the back seat however, through the window, she saw the unmistakable profile of Jimmy Neutron.

"NO, NO, NO! WAIT!"

But it was too late. By the time Cindy had gotten the words out, the car had picked up speed and was trundling down the street, out of sight. No matter how fast Cindy moved, the car would be long gone by the time she hit the pavement. She would never be able to catch Jimmy's attention.

"How could I have been so stupid?" Cindy erupted. She delivered a kick to her mattress and stormed away from the window, falling into a heap in her chair by the desk. Her vision blurred as she grabbed a hold of her message, burying her head against her arm.

"It's all my fault Jimmy," she moaned, her fingers running over the paper. "How could I have called you a wimp when I didn't even have the guts to say goodbye?"

* * *

Jimmy had to admit, the backseat was quite comfortable. He was able to put his travel bag next to him, and there was more than ample room for his long legs. Although he was an experienced mechanic and could tell that the vehicle hadn't been made on earth, the Missionaries had done a good job of making the car nondescript.

He peered out the window one last time, getting his final look at the Vortex house. As with each time before, when his eyes went to Cindy's bedroom window, he found no sign of the blonde. He thought the curtain looked like it had been pulled at, but maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, and he was only seeing what he wanted to see. Jimmy was well aware of the psychological phenomenon known as the self-fulfilling prophecy.

'If only I could have seen you one last time.'

"Everything going okay Jimmy?" the gray humanoid asked. He was sitting in the seat opposite Jimmy, hands on his knees, the picture of calm. The back compartment of the Missionaries' car was arranged so that there were four seats, with two next to each other and two facing each other.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Jimmy said. His eyes wandered over the back compartment. "Nice vehicle you guys got."

"Thanks. You know, we really appreciate that the people from Retroville are keeping quiet about all this. Though I have to say…" The humanoid made an expression similar to frowning. "I'm little concerned about that Sheen character. He seems to have what you people call loose lips."

"Yeah, you might want to keep an eye on him," Jimmy said. He chuckled, thinking of his friend. His mind then went back to Cindy.

* * *

It may have been the length of the previous night, and the ups and downs that had come along with it, but for some reason, Cindy could not produce tears. It was just as well, given that her face was lying on top of her carefully written message. Jimmy said that the Missionaries used a mailing system similar to Warp Mail, so that they could all stay in-touch. A minute ago she thought she could hand the message directly to Jimmy, but since he was now gone, she supposed she could send it to him as she had originally planned.

Cindy forced herself out of her chair, her hand on the paper. She looked down on it, hoping that it would convey what she wanted it to. The only thing left for her to do now was to go across the street and give it to the Neutrons. Jimmy's parents would know what to do. It also might do her some good to go over there. A number of cars were still parked along the street, so Jimmy's farewell party must not have ended yet. Maybe Carl, Sheen, and Libby were still there.

Cindy steeled herself. The love of her life had just left, and now she had to deal with the aftermath. It wasn't what she wanted to do, but as she had told Jimmy the previous night, they were beginning a new phase in their lives. Cindy wanted to start out that phase on a good note.

Her head swimming with memories of Jimmy, Cindy took her note and trudged over to her bedroom door. She had just about made it to the threshold when an ear-splitting crash rocked her to the floor.

Cindy's window, the one Jimmy had gazed at so often over the past several weeks, exploded into a million tiny pieces. After she had fallen, Cindy instinctively placed her arms over her head, protecting herself from the shards of glass. When the glass had stopped raining, Cindy withdrew her arms to see what had happened.

Goddard flew through the gaping hole he had created in Cindy's wall and landed clumsily on the floor, where he skidded among the glass to a halt. He barked urgently at the blonde, in front of whom he had just managed to stop.

"G-Goddard?" Cindy uttered. She was thunderstruck by the mechanical canine's entry into her room, and was even more confused about what could have possessed him to do such a thing in the first place. "W-What on earth is going on?"

Goddard barked again. The panel in front of his chest lifted, revealing the monitor with which he sometimes communicated.

'There is no time to argue. If you want to see Jimmy before he goes, you must come with me immediately.'

"What?" Cindy said. "But no one knows where the launching point is except the Missionaries. Even Jimmy doesn't know."

'At the request of Judy Neutron, I embedded a homing chip in Jimmy's skin when he was eleven.'

"A homing chip?" Cindy exclaimed. "Is that…legal?"

'I am a scientist Cindy Vortex, not a lawyer. Jimmy told me to make you my number one priority in his absence. My senses indicate that you do not wish for Jimmy to leave, so I will use my abilities to make this wish a reality.'

"Then there's no time to lose."

Goddard propelled himself into the air while Cindy scrambled to her feet. She hastily folded up her message and stuffed it into her pocket. "Goddard! Fly cycle!"

The robotic dog immediately transformed himself into an air speeder. Cindy leapt onto the seat he had provided and grabbed hold of the handles. She was going to catch Jimmy if it was the last thing she did.

"Cynthia, what in the world is–"

Mrs. Vortex had appeared in the doorframe behind Cindy, attracted by all the commotion, when she got a good look at the scene in her daughter's room. The broken window, the shattered glass, and Cindy herself, seated in midair on what she thought was the Neutron boy's pet.

"Sorry Mom, no time to explain!" Cindy shouted over the building whine of Goddard's engines. "Gotta blast!"

Cindy and Goddard shot out of the window. After hesitating for a split second, they made a sharp left and hurtled down the street, leaving Mrs. Vortex with her mouth wide open.

**AN: One more chap to go guys.**


	7. The Departure: Part II

**Disclaimer – I don't own Jimmy Neutron or any other referenced media material.**

Cindy had forgotten what it felt like to fly at high speed. Thanks to Jimmy, she had handled numerous vessels of various shapes and sizes over the years, but this was her first time riding Goddard. In addition to her rusty skills, she couldn't avoid noticing her vulnerability, with nothing but Goddard's metallic frame separating her from the fast-moving pavement below them. The one thing keeping her motivated was the thought of losing Jimmy.

"I don't see them yet!" she hollered above the wind.

"We are closing in on our target," Goddard replied in his monotonous robotic voice.

"Can't you go any faster?"

"I am currently traveling at the maximum velocity that this form allows. I would fly above traffic but will refrain from doing so out of concern for your safety."

"Screw my safety, I want to catch Jimmy now!"

"I apologize Cindy Vortex, but you yourself are my number one priority. Your wants and desires come second."

"Whooooaaaaa!"

In spite of his concern for Cindy's safety, Goddard made a hairpin turn, causing the blonde to almost fly off her seat. She held onto the handlebars for dear life, and then adjusted herself back into the proper position. Since Goddard was the one tracking Jimmy, it was Cindy's job to try and hang on.

This had proven to be a difficult challenge thus far.

"By the way!" Cindy shouted after she had righted herself. "How did your sensors know that I wanted Jimmy to stay?"

"I have been monitoring you closely for some time now, even before Jimmy instructed me to do so." Goddard paused for a bit, as if he were processing something. "I am not quite sure how to say this, but…I am as hot as biscuits for you."

"WHAT?"

"If Jimmy goes through with leaving the planet, I am the perfect fallback option. You will find me intelligent, witty, and an excellent dancer."

"Goddard, this is _no_ time for – look!"

Cindy shot a finger straight ahead. Way down the road, almost past the point of perception, was the large black car. The one with Jimmy inside it. Cindy gripped Goddard's handlebars tightly.

"You're not getting away from me that easily Jimmy."

* * *

Jimmy was getting whiplash from glancing back and forth between the windows so often. Each building they passed seemed to offer some memory, or some sort of significance. Lucky Joe's Cleaners. The House of Pants. McSpanky's (which acquired a new edifice since their previous one turned into a space ship). Jimmy took an especially long look as they passed the Candy Bar. The small restaurant was closed for the morning, since Sam had taken the time off to come to Jimmy's farewell party. Jimmy looked at the empty booths and tables, seeing the ghosts of himself and his friends as they jabbered over a round of sundaes. He wondered how long it would be before he had ice cream again.

Not wanting to succumb to nostalgia, Jimmy forced his mind back to the present. He stared at the gray humanoid sitting in front of him, who offered Jimmy yet another sympathetic smile. The humanoid's name was Altus. A ranking official in the administrative branch of the Intergalactic Missionaries.

"Given what I know of your species' characteristics, I imagine this must be hard for you, Jimmy Neutron," Altus said. He studied the teen carefully, gray eyes dimming. "As I know, it was hard for me."

Jimmy knew Altus's backstory. They had discussed it, as well as many other things, when they first met over four years ago. Altus had come from a planet very similar to Earth, though much more advanced. As such, the alien had many things in common with Jimmy. Altus had been the one to go on a ten-year marathon mission, to help resolve a bloody civil war that was spiraling out of control.

"I didn't realize how difficult it would be," Jimmy said. He stole one last glance at the Candy Bar before it whizzed out of sight. "It wasn't until recently that everything hit me. The places I'd leave behind…the people."

"Those places and people can be a source of great strength. The ones I knew were a powerful motivator for me during those…difficult early years."

For a brief moment, the lines and age stood out on Altus's skin. Although Jimmy could not place Altus's age, whether he was young or old, he could see the experience time had written on his features. Written in permanent ink, which would never wear off. Jimmy wondered, if in time, whether he'd acquire that look as well. He lowered his gaze when Altus caught him staring.

"I had to leave someone behind," Jimmy said, the words coming out before he could even think of stopping them. "Someone special." He willed his voice not to tremor. "Of all the things I have to sacrifice…she will be the hardest."

"You loved this person, didn't you?"

Jimmy started at first, surprised at hearing his thoughts so casually unmasked, but the calm, understanding gaze he saw on Altus's face assuaged his worry. Finding that gaze difficult to meet, he lowered his head once more.

"Yes."

"You know, it is not recommended, nor is it in all honesty very feasible, but there are some missionaries who do take on partners. Who try and start families."

"Less than one percent of the active ones do," Jimmy said with a small smile. He exchanged a meek glance with Altus. "According to the information I requested from Bookkeeping."

"You would be correct," Altus said.

Jimmy was growing weary of this grim subject. "So, where is our launching point exactly?"

* * *

The wind was screaming in Cindy's ears as her and Goddard weaved in and out of traffic, consisting of both cars on the road and pedestrians on the sidewalk. They were gaining on Jimmy's black car, slowly but surely.

"Faster Goddard, faster!" Cindy urged, even though she knew Goddard was flying at top speed. Her palms were growing sore from squeezing the handlebars so tightly, but she didn't dare loosen her grip. If they kept this up, they would catch Jimmy in another minute or two.

"C'mon! Just a little further!"

* * *

Altus smiled at Jimmy. "The launching point we will be using today is located in a secluded area of the Appalachian Mountains. We made some modifications to it of course, but we believe that launching from there will attract less attention than if we had launched from Retroville."

"Someone should really think of constructing a space vehicle capable of simultaneously launching and cloaking itself," Jimmy said, scratching his chin. He was suddenly struck, however, by something Altus had said. "Wait a minute, did you say the Appalachians?"

"Correct again," Altus said.

"But we're not driving all the way over there, are we?" Jimmy said. The Intergalactic Missionaries were well-known on other planets for their technological prowess, and it seemed odd to him that they'd waste hours reaching a destination by driving.

"In a manner of speaking, we _will_ still be driving, but…" Altus's eyes wandered around the back compartment "…not quite like this." He gave Jimmy another one of his assuring looks. "As you may have already suspected Jimmy, and as you will come to know during your years with us, one of our trademarks is camouflaging our technology in everyday items. Like this car for instance."

Jimmy investigated his surroundings, like he was seeing them for the first time.

"While it appears to be an ordinary car from the outside, and even the inside, it is actually capable of much, much more." Altus flashed Jimmy a cocky grin. Jimmy knew that grin all too well; he had frequently given it to his friends before unveiling a new invention. "Would you care for a demonstration?"

It didn't take Jimmy long to answer.

* * *

"We're almost there Goddard!" Cindy shouted.

They were only a few cars back from the black vehicle that bore Jimmy. If Cindy squinted, she could see the tip of Jimmy's tall hairdo sticking out behind the rear window. She smiled, anxious to see what Jimmy's reaction would be when he saw her and Goddard cruising along next to him.

"Just a few more weaves should do it."

Goddard banked left, then right, easily maneuvering around a blue sedan, ignoring the honking horns. With a similar motion, he got around another car. Then another. Only one more separated them from Jimmy's.

"Go wide around this one. We want to get next to Jimmy."

Goddard swung to the far right, getting ready to pass the last car, when suddenly, the black vehicle carrying Jimmy made a hard right-hand turn. Cindy didn't even have time to bark out the order. Goddard spun in a vicious circle and shot after Jimmy, determined not to let his master out of his reach. The sudden movement completely disoriented Cindy, but once she recovered, she saw that they were still tailing the black vehicle, and that the black vehicle, and her and Goddard, were alone on this new street.

And they were merely inches apart.

"We've got 'em!" Cindy exclaimed. "Pull up to the right. We're closing in!"

It happened so fast, it took several seconds before Cindy could comprehend it. One minute they were gaining on Jimmy's car, her head swirling with excitement at finally having caught him. The next minute, Cindy was reaching out to put a hand on the vehicle, but only grasped air.

The car had vanished.

* * *

It felt just like being in a rocket, Jimmy thought. He had expected the vehicle to suddenly take off at mind-blowing speed, slamming his heart into his chest, but it was nothing of the sort. All he experienced was a moment of stillness, followed by the simple sensation of weightlessness. As Jimmy inspected his surroundings, he found that the passenger windows were completely gone. In their stead, through the gaping holes in the vehicle, was a tie-dye purplish blur. Like the car was swimming in a gelatinous tunnel of Purple Flurp. Jimmy looked at Altus for an explanation.

"We couldn't think of a name for this form of transportation," Altus said, gazing about like Jimmy, "So we decided to call it warping. Not the most creative term, I admit, but nomenclature was never our strong suit."

"You've found a way to condense the distance between two points," Jimmy said. Every so often, in the purplish soup outside their vehicle, he could make out a house, or a tree, or even part of a landscape.

"Yes," Altus said. "Of course, that sort of thing has already been done before. We wanted to find a way to condense distance, but between points that were relatively close together, like two points on a single planet. Previous techniques condensed the distance too sharply, rendering short-range travel almost impossible."

"Brilliant," Jimmy stated. "It's similar to the technique I developed to remotely extract items from my hypercube using my watch. I never thought of converting it into a form of personal travel."

"Then the life of a missionary may suit you after all Jimmy Neutron," Altus said. "This is just the tip of the iceberg."

* * *

Goddard landed hard on the street, sparks flying as his feet squealed against the pavement, desperately trying to reduce their velocity. Before they came to a halt, Cindy leapt off the robotic dog. She nearly stumbled over at first, but her excellent coordination prevented this. It was her pent-up adrenaline, however, that came tumbling out.

"WHAT JUST HAPPENED?" she screamed, fists in the air. There was no one walking by on the sidewalk, but even if there had been, she wouldn't have cared.

Goddard jumped out of his skid and landed in front of her. The friction on his feet had been so great, his paws were smoking.

"One minute he was there, the next he wasn't!"

The panel in Goddard's chest lifted, and the mechanical canine began typing out a response.

'They may have used a form of travel to shorten the distance between their current location and their expected destination. I have seen Jimmy do something similar before.'

This did nothing to curb Cindy's worry. She heaved a sigh. "So we lost him?"

'For the moment, although my sensors indicate that Jimmy is still on earth. If they have gone somewhere, they are not beyond our range.'

"Then that means we have a chance. But…" Cindy's spirits had soared briefly, only to come crashing back down. She pounded her fists against her thighs. "Oh, we'll never catch him Goddard! He could be hundreds or thousands of miles away, and you're just not fast enough."

Goddard barked so suddenly that Cindy nearly took a step back. He furiously entered the words onto his monitor.

'We will see about that Cindy Vortex. Jimmy was not the only one who conducted experiments in the lab. While you two were off catching the train of destiny last night, as I was cleaning up the lab, I made some upgrades to my engine.'

"Upgrades?" Cindy asked. She then frowned. "And what do you mean 'train of destiny'?"

'I have upgraded my language algorithms as well. Now to borrow a quote from my favorite movie actress, hop on board, hang on tight, and fasten your seatbelts: it is going to be a bumpy ride.'

Cindy didn't want to lose a second. She jumped on Goddard's back, curling her fingers around his handlebars, preparing herself for anything. She quickly looked around for a seatbelt, but couldn't find one.

"I was not being literal about the seatbelt," came Goddard's robotic voice.

Cindy gritted her teeth. "If you really want me to like you, then I _don't _recommend making me angry!"

"Your bosoms have indeed grown in size."

"GODDARD!"

Before Cindy could say another word, Goddard's engine roared, her surroundings blurred, and she got the sensation of being shot out of a cannon.

* * *

"We're halfway there," Altus said.

Jimmy gulped. It was really happening. In a few short minutes, he would finally be leaving planet Earth, and who knew for how long. Once he left, there would be no turning back.

Jimmy slowly let out a long sigh, trying to calm his heartbeat, trying to cool his nerves.

* * *

Although they were traveling using the same mechanism as the Missionaries' car, Cindy's experience was much rougher than Jimmy's. It was like going on the world's fastest roller coaster times ten, except that the only thing holding you to your seat was the strength of your grip.

As she clung on for dear life, Cindy couldn't help wondering how little she knew about Goddard. In truth, there were several things that she didn't know. Like the fact that Goddard's mental capacity rivaled Jimmy's (unbeknownst to the latter), or that back in sixth grade, it had been Goddard's idea to watch Cindy change through the window. Suddenly, there were many things she wanted to ask her mechanical chauffer.

"What exactly are we doing?" Cindy shouted over the brutal wind resistance.

"Hopefully the same thing that Jimmy is doing."

Cindy struggled to open her eyes. For a second, she thought she saw a house, and another time, she thought she saw a lake. Her heart was beating so rapidly, she could no longer feel it.

"Is this supposed to be so…hazardous?"

"It should not be according to theory, but I am afraid my technique is imperfect. According to my calculations, Jimmy is moving at a much faster rate of speed us. I am sorry Cindy Vortex, but at this point, I am unsure if we will be able to catch him."

"We _have_ to catch him Goddard!" Cindy exclaimed. Tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. "We just have to!"

* * *

Altus's head swiveled leftward. He went still and briefly donned a look of concentration. "I think we have arrived."

As soon as he said this, the purplish goop whirling outside the vehicle vanished, and was replaced by countless identical, objects flying past them. The sudden transition, including the return to gravity, disoriented Jimmy. He was not used to being the passenger on an unexpected voyage.

Once Jimmy had regained his senses, he realized that the stationary objects whipping by them were tree trunks. He stuck his head closer to the window and saw, by the uneven way darkness and light alternated, that they were driving on a dirt path inside of a dense forest. This didn't last very long, however, as the outside world suddenly became very bright and all the tree trunks vanished. He shielded his eyes against the burst of light.

Although he couldn't see it, Jimmy felt the car come to a stop. He heard the sound of Altus unbuckling his seat belt and exiting the vehicle, followed by the sound of a several others, presumably from the front compartment. A few seconds later, Jimmy heard his own door opening. He felt himself being guided out into the open.

By the time Jimmy had placed both feet on the dirt, he was able to take his hand away from his eyes. When he did so, he got his first look at the launching point.

Including the shuttle.

* * *

It had been terrifying at first, but Cindy thought she was finally getting used to Goddard's form of warp travel. Once she had assimilated to the sensation, it simply became a matter of focusing, and not letting her guard down. The only doubt she had was how long she could keep this up.

"Jimmy's velocity has greatly reduced," Goddard suddenly said. "It is possible that they have reached the launching point."

"NO!" Cindy cried. "How long until we get there?"

"If my calculations are correct, we will reach the launching point in five minutes."

"We're not going to make it," Cindy moaned.

"Do not lose hope Cindy Vortex. Jimmy has overcome significantly greater odds than this for the ones he cares for. If what goes around truly comes around, then I think that perhaps this time, it will be us who come through for him."

"Just hang on Jimmy," Cindy said in a soft voice.

* * *

The launching point was a large, flat expanse of land residing near the top of the mountain. Behind this expanse was a thick forest, composed of tall cedars that must have been hundreds of years old. It was in the forest that the black vehicle carrying Jimmy had materialized. Once Jimmy had gone out several hundred feet past the forest and into the flat area, he could see far into a deep valley, covered with even more trees. Way beyond the valley were more mountains.

The shuttle was a large, steel gray vehicle closely resembling something built by NASA, although it was a bit bulkier and boxier. The ship was parked on its tail, well above the ground, so that its rounded nose pointed toward the sky. A flight of stairs led to the ship's open entrance, in which the other missionaries traveling with Altus had just disappeared. What looked like some sort of binders appeared to hold the shuttle in place on the ground. On the shuttle's belly, Jimmy saw the same insignia that was emblazoned on the missionaries' robes.

"Here we are," Altus said. He glanced at the ship, and then at Jimmy, who was still avidly investigating the foreign spacecraft. "We thought this one might do, since it bore similarities to some of the earthen models we've seen."

"Looks pretty powerful," Jimmy said, his eyes draping over the shuttle's curves and corners. Some mechanical intuition suggested that the craft wielded great strength.

"That she is," Altus said. The alien then began fiddling around with something in his robe. Jimmy was about to comment on this when Altus withdrew his hand and opened it. A beam of light shot out of his hand and engulfed the black vehicle that had taken them from Retroville. Almost instantly, the vehicle was sucked out of the air and into Altus's hand, like steam being inhaled by a vacuum. Jimmy caught a quick glance of a small capsule residing in Altus's hand. The alien stored the object in his robe and then looked at Jimmy.

"As I mentioned before, we must leave the planet rather quickly."

Jimmy peered at the ship parked behind Altus.

"But before we can do that, there is one more thing we must take care of," Altus said.

Jimmy frowned. Something about Altus's voice sounded different just now. "One more thing?"

As Jimmy pondered the potential answer, he felt Altus's demeanor begin to change. While he had been serious yet friendly the entire morning thus far, the serious side seemed to take over. This other Altus stood a little taller, and looked a little sharper. An air of authority emanated from him.

"Before you launch, it is my duty as a senior official to formally induct you into the missionaries. I will give you a brief review of what we stand for, what your duties will entail, and what will be expected of you. Please be forewarned though."

Altus gave Jimmy a look as serious as any he had given him thus far.

"Once you accept what I am about to tell you, the second you step foot inside our shuttle, your decision to join the missionaries will be binding. You can back out at any time before then, but once you board, you will only be able to leave the Order under very specific circumstances." Altus paused, letting his words sink in. "Do you understand what I have just told you?"

"Yes," Jimmy said.

"Then lets move closer to the ship."

Altus turned around and started walking. Jimmy followed close behind.

* * *

"Is he still there Goddard?"

"Yes, he has not moved from his current location. We have three minutes remaining."

Cindy briefly took her hand off a handlebar, wiping the sweat off her brow. "This is going to be close."

* * *

Altus went up the first step of the staircase leading to the shuttle's entrance and turned around. The serious look he had been wearing remained, but under that was the slightest of smiles. Like a father gazing proudly upon a grown son.

"James Isaac Neutron," Altus began. "It is with great pleasure that I, along with the other administrative officials in the Milky Way Division, have accepted your application to join our ranks in the Intergalactic Missionaries. For a hundred lifetimes of a hundred stars, we have been the guardians of peace and the ambassadors of scientific empowerment. You, James Isaac Neutron first caught our attention seven years ago, when you retrieved your city's parents from the Yolkians."

At this, Altus let his smile grow ever so slightly.

"By the time we learned of your dilemma, you had already saved your people and brought them home safe and sound. Although you were not aware of it, we followed you very closely from that point forward, watching you meet and overcome every obstacle, ready to lend a helping hand if you ever became overwhelmed. But, you never needed us. We saw your abilities as well as the motivation for your actions. When the time was right, we revealed ourselves to you."

Altus paused, giving Jimmy time to digest his words.

"For the previous four years, you have worked very hard on your application. We knew that you were an exceptionally gifted human being, but we wanted to see how well you could perform when truly pressed, and while working alone. We demanded near-perfection from your every experiment and invention, and have asked you to solve extraordinarily difficult problems. But not only did we test your scientific ingenuity; we also tested your heart. Over the past four years, you have shown us that you possess strong moral character, a desire to spread your scientific knowledge, and love for other life forms. You have passed…all of our tests."

Altus paused for a long time at this. Jimmy could hear his own pulse vibrating in his ears. It was really happening. He would soon accept his terms of service, and then, the rest would be history.

"As a member of the Intergalactic Missionaries, you will help protect the most defenseless and will spread knowledge to the most ignorant. Credit will not be given to you, and you will not ask for it. You shall put your service and your missions above all else, including yourself, your own needs, and your own desires. The responsibility of each of your missions rests entirely upon your shoulders."

Altus paused yet again, but more shortly this time.

"Do you, James Isaac Neutron, accept these terms?"

Jimmy swallowed. "…I do."

* * *

"How much time Goddard?"

"We should reach the launching point in one minute."

Cindy's nerves were rattling, and it wasn't from the ride. She was so close to Jimmy. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him now.

* * *

"And do you, James Isaac Neutron, accept the fact that once you join the missionaries, you will only be able to willingly resign from the order in-between missions, and that doing so will result in your permanent separation from the order?"

"…I do."

* * *

"The time Goddard?"

"Thirty seconds until we reach the launching point."

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

* * *

"Then it is our great honor to accept you, James Isaac Neutron, as one of our members. We hope that your years with us will be fruitful." Altus smiled at Jimmy. "You acceptance will be sealed once you climb up the final step."

Altus ambled up the stairs himself, until he reached the top. He turned to face Jimmy once more. When he did so, there was a whoosh of air. A great orange flame burst out of the spacecraft's bottom, accompanied by a rapidly rising high-pitched tone. They were preparing for takeoff.

Jimmy took a deep breath. He lifted a foot.

* * *

"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, WHAT'S TAKING SO LONG?"

"Ten seconds until we reach the launching point."

* * *

Jimmy put one foot on the first step. He was about to put his other foot there as well when he stopped. He twisted his ankle a bit, feeling the earth beneath the sole of his shoe. This could be his last step on his home planet.

Filled with emotion, Jimmy's eyes swept the scene surrounding him. The trees, the valley, the distant landscapes. As he stared, his eyes attained a faraway look. Not seeing what was in front of him anymore, he gazed down at his remaining earth-bound foot. The memories played inside his head. He thought about many things from many times, but mostly…he thought about her.

"_Nice invention Nerdtron."_

"_That's why they call it the lost tomb. Not the 'here it is tomb, come inside and grab a milkshake'."_

"_Why Neutron you silver-tongued, pointy-headed devil…I thought you'd never ask."_

"_Neutron…I want my pants now, or I'm going to sue you."_

"_This is your chance! The part where the hero tells the girl what he's been wanting to say to her his whole life!"_

"_If you turn your back, you'll always regret it. A thousand times more than any regret you have right now."_

A lone tear trickled down Jimmy's cheek. He didn't wipe it, but instead let it continue sliding, a fragile, transient reminder of the sacrifice he had made.

"Goodbye Cindy," he whispered, wishing he could say so to her right now.

His second and last foot lifted above the ground. He carried it forward, knowing that this was truly the end.

"_Jiiiimmmyyyyy!"_

Jimmy's foot, as well as the rest of his body froze. He had never had an out of body experience before, but in that instant, he experienced a brief taste. It was like his consciousness was floating upward, dissociating from his physical being since it could not process what was currently happening.

A second cry from Cindy brought Jimmy's mind, along with his airborne shoe, back down to Earth. He slowly came out of it, like a diver emerging from water.

"JIMMY!"

"Cindy?" he mumbled, though it didn't feel like he had said the words. Reflexively, his body oriented itself to face the source of the interruption. When he saw that source, rushing toward him at top speed, he awoke completely.

"CINDY!"

"JIMMY!"

Jimmy leapt off the staircase and hurtled toward Cindy. The two teens ran at each other like freight trains, bound on the same track, destined to collide. When Cindy was a couple of feet away, she threw herself at the teen genius, and he caught her with both arms. They rocked to and fro, cheeks pressed against each other, feeling each other's presence, like there was no one else in the world.

"I'm sorry!" Cindy cried. She apologized with more conviction than any she had ever experienced. Salty streams were running under both eyes. "I'm so sorry Jimmy! I should have been there for you this morning!" Cindy's voice cracked and she broke down. "I should have been there!"

"I can't believe you made it here Cindy," Jimmy said incredulously. Tears had streaked his face as well. "H-How did you find me?"

In spite of her sobbing, a pathetic laugh escaped Cindy. "Man's best friend," she said, shoulders quaking with sorrowful amusement.

Jimmy immediately looked past Cindy. His eyebrows knitted in wonderment. "Goddard?"

The mechanical canine was situated about fifty feet back. He barked at first, happy to see his master, but then whimpered. Jimmy's longtime companion knew that their reunion was bittersweet.

A second, more powerful whoosh of air swept through the area, bringing Jimmy's attention back to his transport. He glanced back at the shuttle and saw that the orange flame flowing from underneath it had intensified, to the point where it generated an increasingly powerful wind and rattled the binders holding down the spacecraft. Jimmy's clothes and hair rippled as he exchanged frenzied expressions with Altus.

"We still have some time while the shuttle powers up," the alien called from on top of the stairs. He spoke in a loud voice with his hands around his mouth, to be heard over the noise. "I can give you some time, but we need to leave soon!"

Jimmy tore his gaze from Altus and bore into Cindy's eyes. Cindy redirected the heat with her twin emeralds. Once more, it was blue against green, and green against blue. They grasped each other's arms.

"Cindy," Jimmy said. There were so many things to be said. So many things, but so little time. He felt the panic bloom within his chest. "I…I don't know what to do."

"I don't want you to go!" Cindy cried. Her fingers brushed Jimmy's skin. "Not when you just came back to me." She pounded her forehead against Jimmy's breast. "Not when we just found each other again."

"Oh Cindy," Jimmy breathed. His hand found her hair. "I don't want to lose you either." He closed his eyes. "I wanted to see you again so badly."

"Me too!"

Jimmy held Cindy, absorbing her closeness. "On the island…I saw your carving." Fresh tears sprung from Jimmy's lids. "I suppressed my feelings for so long."

"We both did."

Jimmy slipped his hands down Cindy's arms, so that his palms met hers. Their fingers interlocked with both tenderness and strength. "I did change during these past four years," he told her. "I made room in my life for only one thing. _I _lost you Cindy. I did."

Cindy squeezed Jimmy's fingers in-between her own.

"And it would be a lie to tell you that I didn't feel something for you too. Only I was just too afraid to face it until last night." Jimmy squeezed Cindy right back. "I," he uttered in a shaky voice, "love you…so much. I don't know if I can _bear_ being apart from you." Jimmy had gritted his teeth when he said 'bear.' His lips were no longer functioning properly.

"Is there any other way?" Cindy said. She probed Jimmy's eyes. "Is there any way you can fulfill your dream and we can still be together?"

The pain Jimmy saw in Cindy's eyes reflected his own. He wanted to end it. He wanted to defeat it. He wanted to crush it and let it die, bleeding until it burned no more. His mighty brain hammered at a solution.

"Of course there is!" he said fiercely. The increasing wind from the shuttle blew against his back, reminding him of its presence, but he ignored it. "There's always more than one solution Cindy. I can…I can raise the funds here on earth." A drop of hope infiltrated Jimmy's tone. "I have influence now; I can find the donors. I can even start a business. Of course it will take time, and preparation, but I can really _do_ it Cindy!"

A determined smile broke out on Jimmy's features. He ran his thumbs along her knuckles. "We can do it together in fact! We'll start out slow, but eventually we could build up. We could get other people to help, and we could travel together, you and me across the stars." He gazed imploringly at her. "We can protect the weak and teach the ignorant. We could do it Cindy, we really could do it!"

Jimmy clutched Cindy's hands even tighter. "Is that what you want Cindy?" he asked. He spoke so encouragingly, so kindly, it lifted Cindy off her feet. "Do you want to do that? Do you want to do that with me? I'll do anything you want."

Cindy had never seen Jimmy so vulnerable. She knew her answer to his question, deep inside her heart. Her answer was 'yes'. She wanted to Jimmy to stay. She wanted help him raise the funds. She wanted to travel the stars together and protect the weak, teach the ignorant, and never leave Jimmy's side. She wanted to say 'yes' to his plan so much, her bones ached with fervor. She had never wanted anything so badly in all her life.

"Yes Jimmy!" she cried, pressing herself against the genius. "Yes, I want that! More than you could ever know!" The tears gushed out of her eyes as she held the boy she loved in her arms. The joy was so great, it had become painful. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the blow. "But I can't."

A spasm of wind blasted the couple, followed by roaring from the shuttle's afterburner. The flame had thickened even further, and the binders were wobbling horribly.

"We're running out of time Jimmy!" called Altus. He was standing inside the shuttle now, clutching to the entrance doorframe for support. "If you are coming with us, then you must make your decision now!"

The force of the last gust of wind had blown Cindy's hair clip right off. Her golden locks blew freely in the air, writhing around her eyes, face and neck. Her jasmine scent flew out to meet Jimmy. The fragrance overpowered his nostrils. It was omnipresent.

"I won't let you give this up for me!" Cindy shouted above the wind.

"Why not?" Jimmy yelled back. "We could do it together! I _want _to do it together!"

"For all the wrong reasons!"

"I could still fulfill my dream!" Jimmy felt himself cracking. "Cindy, I don't know what I'm gonna do without you!"

"You're just settling!" Cindy cried. "You know your resources can never match the ones the Missionaries will give you! You know that's why you worked so hard to get accepted! Because if you don't, your dream will only be a shell of what it could have been!"

"You don't know that!"

"Jimmy Neutron, you've never settled for anything less than perfect in your life, and you're not starting now!"

"You can't ask me to sacrifice this!" Jimmy spat. "You can't ask me to sacrifice you!"

"You're not the one making the sacrifice this time!" Cindy took Jimmy's hand in hers and slammed it over her heart. "I am!"

The wind had been taken right out of Jimmy's insides. He had lost. He had been defeated. He had had his last fight with Cindy Vortex, and she had won. And to prove it, he felt the beat of her victorious broken heart beneath his palm.

"Let me take the fall for this one," Cindy pleaded, pressing Jimmy's hand against her chest. "Let me take the hit. Let me take the hurt, for both of us, so that when you leave, you carry nothing with you but your heart and drive."

"Cindy you can't do this!" Jimmy protested in vain.

"Yes I can!" the blonde screamed. "This is my decision and I'm taking the responsibility!"

"I won't let you!"

"I'm giving you no choice!" The iron-willed girl mustered up her courage. She wanted to fall, splinter, and break. But no force of nature, even her own separate desires, would allow her to do this. "Jimmy, our paths couldn't be any clearer." She shook her head, as if to emphasize this. "It's like what they say. That the best only comes with great pain. And people like us, we have to give it our best. Because anything less is unacceptable. Because anything less is a waste."

Cindy leveled her gaze at Jimmy.

"You are going on that shuttle and you are going to give this opportunity everything you got. And if you don't…" Cindy's lip trembled. "Then I will leave you." She sucked in a shaky breath. "I will desert you. I will not allow us to be together if you stay!"

Jimmy felt his heart shatter. Cindy had truly given him no choice. There was no adequate response to what she had said. All he could manage to say was:

"Why?"

The question floated out in the air, on the most delicate of wings. When Jimmy had said it, Cindy's fury cooled. Her watery gaze fixed on Jimmy, not with rage, but with compassion.

"Because I love you!" she said and wrapped her arms around him as tightly as possible. "I know it's hard, and I know you feel guilty, and I know you want to be with me and make it up to me, but your place is with the universe, and if you're too…broken up to accept that, then I'll do it for you. I'll make the sacrifice and I'll take the knife. And if that's not enough and you're up there in the stars and you have nothing else to go on…if your engine runs out of fuel..." She closed her eyes. "Use me! Use me if the distance goes too far! Use me if your missions seem too hard! Use me as your motivation. Hate me if you have to. And with every war you stop, every life you save, and every mind you teach, you can say there!" Cindy hit her palm with her fist. "_That _one's for Cindy!"

Slowly, ever so slowly, they released their hold on each other, so that only their hands were connected. They gazed into each other's eyes.

"I will give you…only one allowance," Cindy said. "Only one." Her voice had almost left her. "If it ever gets too hard…if you truly can't make it…if you've given it a try and it doesn't work out…or if you finish your career and are too old to carry on… … …then come back to me."

For the first time in minutes, Cindy showed a glimmer of weakness. "Come back to me."

"You don't know what you're saying!" Jimmy protested. "You can't wait for me!"

"I will wait for you. You have to complete one mission or a lifetime of missions, but either way, when it's finally over and if you're still able to…come back to me."

Jimmy shook his head in sorrow and awe. "I'll never forget you."

Cindy smiled sadly in return. "Neither will I."

"My watch," Jimmy said. He removed the device and handed it over to Cindy. "I meant to give it to you. It has the video of me and Paul."

"Thank you."

Only their fingertips remained in contact. "Goodbye…Cindy Vortex."

"Goodbye…Jimmy Neutron." They finally parted. "I will wait for you...no matter how many nights it takes."

Jimmy turned. With a final glance at the planet he called home and at the woman that he loved, he went up the stairs and into the shuttle.

* * *

They soared through the earth's atmosphere and into the confines of space, in what would be the first step in a very long journey. The shuttle had been every bit as powerful as Jimmy suspected. In contrast to his many handmade vessels, he felt no pull or drag as they cut through the solar system. Their transport was built for strength and endurance, and it seemed to have both in abundance. In addition, the shuttle had somehow created an artificial sense of gravity, since he experienced none of the weightlessness he had always experienced in space.

As they flew further away from his blue planet, Jimmy's heart rate gradually returned to a normal rhythm. He felt nauseous, slightly sad, and strangely empty. So much had happened in the past twelve hours, let alone the past twelve minutes. It was like he had crammed the lost years of his high-school social life into the past half-day.

"Will you be alright Jimmy?"

Altus had placed a hand on Jimmy's shoulder and gazed with concern upon the young earthling. Jimmy returned the concerned gaze with a hollow look.

"I can't believe she just did that," Jimmy muttered. He felt numb.

"That was some girl you left behind," Altus said. "Life-forms like that one are so rare…and so precious."

"It was killing her to do it," Jimmy said. "Those decisions she made." He threw his hands at his sides. "For the both of us." He shook his head. "Cindy Vortex is…the bravest, most heroic person I've ever known."

"You can give something back to her by honoring her sacrifice." Altus's hand had almost slipped off Jimmy's shoulder when Altus, seeming to remember something, held it in place. "In time, this pain shall ease."

Altus began walking away from Jimmy. "There's a rest chamber down the hallway on your left, straight ahead. You may take thirty minutes to collect yourself. I will come find you when it is time to make our first report."

Hands behind his back, Altus strode down the hallway to Jimmy's right, until he was gone.

Jimmy stood in the same spot for a while. He didn't exactly feel frozen in place, but for some reason, he neglected movement. He contemplated this for a time before something or another jarred him from his position and encouraged him to head toward the left hallway. He had almost reached the threshold when he heard something hit the floor. He paused, wondering what it was when he noticed a crumpled up piece of paper lying near his feet.

Jimmy frowned. If he hadn't known any better, he would have said that the paper had fallen out of his pocket. This was impossible however, because he had made sure his pockets were completely empty before leaving his house.

Bending over, Jimmy retrieved the piece of paper. He carefully opened it, and did his best to smooth it out between both hands. He quickly scanned it. His blood ran cold. From the paper, there was faint wave of jasmine. His hands began to tremble and he almost dropped the paper, but managed to retain his grip.

"She forgot to sign her name," he whispered.

As he struggled to hold back the tears, Jimmy straightened and read through the message written on the paper, word by word.

_Dear Jimmy,_

_I'm not sure where you'll be or what you'll be doing when you read this letter. You could be reading it right now as I stand before you, as I tremble while awaiting your reaction, knowing that we are spending our last minutes together. You could have waited to read this letter until you got into your shuttle. Maybe, as you see these words, you are even passing by Mars. I hope, if this should happen, that you remember the adventure we had there together, and that it brings a smile to your face. Finally, I suppose you could be reading this letter when you are at Headquarters, preparing or perhaps partaking in your initial training period. I hope the training is not too difficult, although I know that if it is, you'll find someway to overcome it, no matter how challenging the situation._

_As I write this, I'm sitting in my room, sneaking glances out my window at your house. You are about to leave at any minute. How funny it is, that our positions have reversed and now I am the one reduced to spying. I'm not sure if you will have seen me again by the time you read this, but if you haven't, please forgive me. I wish I were brave and heroic like you. I guess for normal people like me, it's not so easy._

_The reason I wanted to write you, the thing I wanted to tell you, before your alarm went off when we were together on the island, is that I am proud of you. You have a gift, a gift I have been envious of for so long, but one that I am glad was given to someone on our planet. Although it hurts me to watch you go, I know that you are doing the right thing. This is the only way I know that you can use your gift to its fullest extent. In spite of everything, at the end of the day, you should be proud of this. Because I know that everyone else in Retroville is, including me._

Jimmy turned the paper over.

_I wish we had more time together. I wish we could have come together years ago. But I know that you belong on your path, and I belong on mine. And although I don't know how long you'll be gone, somehow, someway, I hope that we will meet again. It is this hope that gives me what little strength I have. That someday, you'll come back to me. And so, on that hope, I will wait for you._

_I know you may not agree with this. I know you may think I should forget about you and move on. But I can't. And there's nothing you can do to stop me. I will wait for you Jimmy Neutron, no matter how long that may be. It is irrational. It is perhaps even stupid. But it is my decision. Even if it takes years. Even if it takes decades. I will wait. Because you have someone who loves you. Because you will always have a home to go to. Because you will always have arms to accept you. Because you will never be alone, no matter how difficult your path may become. I have nothing else to give, but I pray that these words will be strength to you as you traverse the stars, as I lay awake in my bed later tonight, and all the other nights to come, waiting for the moment when and if you come back to me._

_But oh Jimmy, sometimes, the night is so long._

**AN 1: Well, that's a wrap. Hope you guys liked the ending, even though it was sad. When I was writing this fic, I was thinking about Casablanca, which also had a sad ending. I wanted to write a story where even though things didn't work out for our heroes, there really couldn't have been any other ending that worked well. That's the thing I loved about Casablanca, and that's the thing I tried to recreate here.**

**Anyway, please tell me what you think. It can be what you liked, what you disliked, anything. Any feedback, including rave reviews, constructive criticism, and even flames are acceptable, haha. This last chapter was really difficult to write for some reason, and looking back on it, there are a ton of things I would have done differently with this story as a whole. In example, I personally wasn't too fond of the first couple of chapters, and I think that the beginning, middle and end chapters are disproportionate in length. But I'd like to hear what you guys think.**

**AN 2: **Hello you crazy cats and dogs. I apologize for my general lack of fanfic activity for the past couple of months or so. Like so many of us all know, life is a fluid business, and it can be difficult to predict when things can come up. I don't know how long it will be until I return to updating, but rest assured - I have not departed the JN fandom just yet.

I am uploading this Author's Note to make an announcement. In **three weeks**, on **Saturday, September 22nd, myself, quietthinker, and EL CHUPACABRA** (a writer once active within the fandom who has since deleted his stories) will be making a video. As it turns out, we've all stalked each other and found out where each other lives, and whaddya know - we're within driving distance. You won't see our video in theaters, but you should find it sometime afterward on youtube via your friendly neighborhood internet connection (maybe Sunday, September 23rd). Basically, we plan to discuss our stories, Jimmy Neutron, writing in general, and any other questions you might have.

Please, we encourage you to message us with any questions (appropriate ones that is, lol) you might have. We'd really love to interact with you.

I've also repeated this message in my profile page and at the end of Make a Move - just wanted to increase our exposure for this event :)


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